
Book li^3 , 

GopyiightF. 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



What Do The Prophets Say ? 



BY 



-f^' 



C. I. SCOFIELD, D. D. 



Author of "Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth," "The New Life 

in Christ Jesus," The Scofieid Correspondence Bible 

Course, etc., and Editor of the Scofieid 

Reference Bible 



The Sunday School Times Company 
Philadelphia 






Copyright, 1916, 
by The Sunday School Times Company 



Copyright, 1918, 
by C. I. Scofield 



DEC 30 1S18 

^Cl.Ar)J 11.08 



To 

My Friend 

ALWYk BALL, JUNIOR, 

whose generous fellowship and constant affection 
have done so much to make possible such work 
as I have, by God's grace, been enabled to do, I 
dedicate this book as a token of gratitude. 

C. L SCOFIELD. 

Easter, igi8, 
GreyshingleSf 
Douglaston, Long Island, N, Y, 



FOREWORD 

THAT the human race is in a supreme crisis is obvi- 
ous to the dullest intelligence. Nothing like it 
has ever marked the long life of humanity on the earth. 
It is impossible to restrain the effort to find the meaning 
of it all. No one is really either satisfied with or con- 
vinced by the easy solutions proposed by a shallov^ op- 
timism. For thirty years these prophets of peace without 
righteousness have assured us that great and serious wars 
were ended forever; and yet we are in the greatest and 
most serious of all wars. What does it all mean? 

The Christian believes that somehow, somewhere, the 
answer is in the writings of the Prophets — writings au- 
thenticated by Jesus Christ (Luke 16:31; 24:27, 44), 
and by hundreds of literal fulfilments. But these writ- 
ings, plain and explicit in themselves, have been forced 
into meanings utterly foreign to the language used, in 
the effort to make them apply to the Church instead of 
to Israel; or have been the ready resort of unscholarly 
fanatics. 

Surely it is timely that a sane and reasonable inter- 
pretation of those writings should be found. This book 
is a sincere effort to present such an interpretation, after 
thirty-five years of earnest study. 



C I. SCOFIELD. 



Greyshingles, Douglaston, L. I. 
Easter, 19 18, 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

I. Does theBibleThrow Light onThisWar? 9 

II. The Prophet 21 

III. The Ethical Message 27 

IV. The Messiah Z7 

V. The Vision of the Kingdom 53 

VI. The Prophetic Ministry of Jesus Christ 75 

VII. The Prophetic Message of the Acts. ... 99 

VIII. Prophecy in the Epistles Ill 

IX. The Revelation 127 

X. The Last Seven Years of the Age 141 

XL Earth's Gk)LDEN Age 159 



As a convenience to the reader, almost every passage of Scripture 
referred to throughout this hook is given, in whole or in part, in 
the footnotes. And the reader will find that, for his further con- 
venience, the same Scripture material is repeated over and over 
again in these footnotes, so that he may have constantly before him, 
without having to turn pages or look up references in his Bible, 
the Word of God on which this book is based. 

A Scripture Index at the end of the book will enable one to 
find the location of every Scripture passage here discussed; the 
Topical Index locates many details of prophecy on which God's 
Word throws light. 

7 



I. DOES THE BIBLE THROW LIGHT 
ON THIS WAR? 

WHAT significance, if any, has the great war 
now raging over Europe and the East in the 
light of prophecy? May it be confidently af- 
firmed that this particular war is mentioned in 
the prophetic Word? If it be true that ''prophecy is 
history written beforehand" it might well seem a strange 
thing if a war wholly without parallel in human history 
should be passed without notice in the Scriptures. With 
such light as I have, I shall try to meet the question fairly. 
I hold no new or peculiar theories of prophetic inter- 
pretation, nor have I any novel doctrine in the interests 
of which I might be tempted to force favorable applica- 
tions of obscure predictions. 

Perhaps no other one thing has done so much to bring 
the study and teaching of prophecy into its present evi- 
dent neglect as too hasty generalizations. The method 
is easy; it dispenses with long and arduous study and 
reflection; and often serves to make a desired point. 
But it is not convincing, and the conclusions so reached 
are soon invalidated by the discovery of other passages 
which can by no means be brought into harmony with 
them. 

All such conclusions are reached in disregard of the 
great inspired rule governing prophetical interpretation, 
'^Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture 
is of its own interpretation'' (2 Pet. 1 : 20, Version of 
1911), — that is, no prophecy is to be interpreted ''by 
itself," but in harmony with the whole body of pre- 
diction on any given subject. What a safeguard of san- 
ity that is ! It is not too much to say that, had Peter's 
rule been observed we should have had, with some minor 
disagreements no doubt, a majestic consensus of inter- 
pretation of the body of predictive prophecy. 



-^ 



10 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 

In all fairness, however, it must be said that not the 
faddists only, but the very men who carefully avoid 
every savor of fanaticism, and pride themselves on sanity 
as their honorable characteristic, have been sinners also 
against Peter's rule. The common misinterpretation of 
the numerous and explicit predictions of the Lord's re- 
turn, that he comes for the believer at death, may serve 
to illustrate this. The most superficial study of the 
passages would have shown that whatever they mean 
they cannot mean that. 

The first thing which Peter's rule does for us is to 
send us to the Bible with our questions about the future. 
We speak sometimes of ''far-seeing" men. Apart from 
inspiration there are no such men. Merely human at- 
tempts to forecast the future have always been put to 
shame by the event. Urquhart has brought together a 
number of striking illustrations of this. At crises in 
human affairs the ablest men of the time have spoken 
with assurance of the outcome. In no instance was the 
attempt successful. Just now many about us are essay- 
ing the never accomplished task. We are told that so 
shocked is humanity by the carnage and suffering of 
the present struggle that it will never tolerate another 
war. We are told that the inevitable outcome of this 
desperate struggle will be the federation of nations in 
*'the United States of the World." But, even if that come 
to pass, it will not insure the peace of the peoples. The 
federation known as the United States of America did 
not safeguard those States from a long and bloody war. 
Our question then is to be put to Holy Writ. If there is 
no answer there, there is no answer anywhere. 

But an honest application of Peter's rule sends us to 
the whole body of revealed truth concerning the future. 
Not that all prophecy has to do with the political future 
of the nations of the earth ; but all prophecy must be 
searched that such parts of the whole as bear upon that 
future may be gathered into our thought. For prophecy, 
like all revealed truth, is vitally interrelated. Scripture 
is to be thought of not as an edifice built of separate 
stones, but as a stately tree, built of interlaced fibers — ^a 
growth, not a structure. I propose, therefore, in sub- 



DOES THE BIBLE THROW LIGHT ON THIS WART 11 

sequent chapters, such a survey of the prophetic Word 
as will put us at the right point of vision for the finding 
of our answer. Surely such an attempt to see in due 
and sober proportion what it has pleased God to reveal 
of the future of our race is well worth our thought at 
the present tremendous moment. 

To say what may be the significance of this unprece- 
dented world-war requires more than a citation of some 
supposedly applicable text. For prophecy on the great 
world-scale deals in epochs, and sweeps centuries into 
its ken. Prophecy has to do with great periods called 
"ages.'' We are living to-day in two of these ages ; 
two streams of prophecy have met and flow on together, 
but do not mingle. These are, the *'Times of the Gen- 
tiles,'' and the Church Age. 

Of the first, Daniel is the chief prophet; of the sec- 
ond, Christ. And it is to be carefully noted that Christ 
authenticates Daniel, and sends us to him for informa- 
tion (Matt. 24:15). 1 

It is Christ, moreover, who gives us both the name 
and the sign of the times oi the Gentiles : 

''And Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gen- 
tiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 
21:24). 

Obviously the words refer to the political rule of the 
Gentiles ; and the specific sign which marks the presence 
and continuance of the rule is Gentile domination over 
Jerusalem. This enables us to fix with certainty the 
beginning of the ''times of the Gentiles." For the first 
Gentile overlord of Jerusalem was Necco, king of Egypt 
(2 Chron. 36:3-5).^ But his authority was short lived 
and negligible. With the conquest of Jerusalem by 

^ When ye therefore shall see Eliakim his brother king over 

the abomination of desolation, Judah and Jerusalem, and turned 

spoken of by Daniel the proph- his name to Jehoiakim. And 

et, stand in the holy place, (who- Necho took Jehoahaz his broth- 

so readeth, let him understand:) er, and carried him to Egypt. 

— Matt. 24 : 15. Jehoiakim was twenty and five 

*And the king of Egypt put years old when, he began to 

him down at Jerusalem, and reign, and he reigned eleven 

condemned the land in a hun- years in Jerusalem : and he did 

dred talents of silver and a tal- that which was evil in the sight 

ent of gold. of the Lord his God. — 2 Chron. 

And the king of Egypt made 36 : 3-5. 



12 V/HAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYF 

Nebuchadnezzar, 606 B. C, began the period, of more 
than two thousand five hundred years' duration, in which 
we are Hving, and of which the present world-war may 
be the beginning of the end. 

Two things mark in Scripture the beginning of a 
new dispensation — miracle, and a new prophetic revela- 
tion. With the captivity of Judah began the times of 
the Gentiles, and it was then, at the beginning of the 
rule of the Gentiles over the earth, that to Daniel was 
revealed in broad outline the whole course of that epoch, 
and with minute detail its end (Dan. 2:1-45; 7:1-27; 
9:20-27; 11:36 to 12:3).^ 

The outline of Gentile world rule is simple. Four 
great empires are to dominate the scene; and these are 
of easy identification to the student of history, first, by 
the order of their succession, and, secondly, by the char- 
acteristics given them in the prophecy. Empires in just 
the order given by Daniel have arisen, haz^e possessed 
the characters ascribed to them by Daniel, and have 
passed away. The event has exactly justified the fore- 
view. The Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar, Medo-Persia, 
the Greece of Alexander the Great, and Rome have come 
and gone. 

And still not altogether gone. Strange as the state- 
ment may at first sight seem, we are not done wdth the 
Roman Empire yet. 

According to the Danielic foreview the fourth or 
Roman Empire passes through four distinct phases. 
These are : 

1. The "iron" period (Dan. 2:40; 7:7),'' fulfilled in 
the history of Rome during the centuries of grov/th, 
union, and conquest. 

2. The division into two, symbolized by the two legs 

^ This Scripture material is After this I saw in the night 

discussed in detail in the later visions, and behold a fourth 

chapters. beast, dreadful and terrible, and 

* And the fourth kingdom shall strong exceedingly ; and it had 

be strong as iron : forasmuch as great iron teeth : it devoured and 

iron breaketh in pieces and sub- brake in pieces, and stamped the 

dueth all things: and as iron residue with the feet of it: and 

that breaketh all these, shall it it zvas diverse from all the 

break in pieces and bruise. — beasts that were before it ; and 

Dan. 2:40. it had ten horns. — Dan, 7: 7' 



DOES THE BIBLE THROW LIGHT ON THIS WAR? 13 

of the Image Vision and fulfilled in the division of the 
empire into Eastern and Western. 

3. The period of further division and of deterioration 
(2:41, 42)^ resulting in the present national world- 
system with the iron of the imperium mingled with the 
''brittle" (not ''miry/' as in Authorized Version) element 
of the fluctuant popular will, as in the constitutional 
monarchies and republics which have come into exist- 
ence in that which was formerly the great fourth Em- 
pire of Rome. Thus, by a necessary historical sequence 
not at all depending on some arbitrary system of sup- 
posed chronology based upon the dates of the decrees 
of Cyrus or Darius, we are brought down to our own 
time. The division territorially, and deterioration in 
respect of power held to obedience to one will, has come 
to pass. We are living in the day of it, and it is the 
nations formed out of ancient Rome that are (with the 
exception of Russia) engaged to-day in the war of wars 
— which may indeed be the death struggle of the present 
world system. 

For the Prophecy of Daniel, confirmed by our Lord's 
own testimony, and reinforced by that other great book 
of the end-time. The Revelation, is clear that what fol- 
lows the Third Period of the Fourth Empire, the period 
of division and deterioration, is the kingdom which the 
God of the heaven sets up, the kingdom which has no 
successor, but endures forever (2:44, 45).^ 

But it is important to note that the end-time of the 

° And whereas thou sawest the never be destroyed : and the 

feet and toes, part of potters' kingdom shall not be left to 

clay, and part of iron, the king- P^^^r people but it shall break 

dom shall be divided; but there J" "^T^^ and consume all these 

, „ , . .^ r ^t, , -t, kmgdoms, and it shall stand for 

shall be m it of the strength ^^^ 

of the iron, forasmuch as thou Forasmuch as thou sawest that 

sawest the iron mixed with miry the stone was cut out of the 

clay. mountain without hands, and 

And as the toes of the feet that it brake in pieces the iron, 

were part of iron, and part of the brass, the clay, the silver, 

clay, so the kingdom shall be and the gold; the great God 

partly strong, and partly broken, hath made known to the king 

— Dan. 2:41,42. what shall come to pass here- 

/And in the days of these after: and the dream is certain, 

kings shall the God of heaven and the interpretation thereof 

set up a kingdom, which shall sure. — Dan. 2 : 44, 45. 



14 



IVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



last phase of the history of that which once was Rome, 
and is now the nations at war, forms a period in itself, 
of which prophecy gives us a detailed description : 

4. The period of the end of the Times of the Gen- 
tiles (Dan. 7:8, 19-26; 9:26, 27; 11:36)J 

The detail will be given in chapters which are to fol- 
low. I must be permitted again to lay emphasis upon 
Peter's rule, and to say once more that it is folly to hope 



■^ I considered the horns, and, 
behold, there came up among 
them another little horn, before 
whom there were three of the 
first horns plucked up by the 
roots : and, behold, in this horn 
were eyes like the eyes of man, 
and a mouth speaking great 
things. — Dan. 7 : 8. 

Then I would know the truth 
of the fourth beast, which was 
diverse from all the others, ex- 
ceeding dreadful, whose teeth 
were of iron, and his nails of 
brass ; which devoured, brake in 
pieces, and stamped the residue 
with his feet ; 

And of the ten horns that 
were in his head, and of the 
other which came up, and be- 
fore whom three fell ; even of 
that horn that had eyes, and a 
mouth that spake very great 
things, whose look was more 
stout than his fellows. 

I beheld, and the same horn 
made war with the saints, and 
prevailed against them ; 

Until the Ancient of days 
came, and judgment was given 
to the saints of the Most High ; 
and the time came that the 
saints possessed the kingdom. 

Thus he said, The fourth 
beast shall be the fourth king- 
dom upon earth, which shall be 
diverse from all kingdoms, and 
shall devour the whole earth, 
and shall tread it down, and 
break it in pieces. 

And the ten horns out of this 
kingdom are ten kings that shall 
arise : and another shall rise 
after them ; and he shall be di- 



verse from the first, and he shall 
subdue three kings. 

And he shall speak great 
words against the Most High, 
and shall wear out the saints 
of the Most High, and think to 
change times and laws : and they 
shall be given into his hand un- 
til a time and times and the 
dividing of time. 

But the judgment shall sit, 
and they shall take away his 
dominion, to consume and to de- 
stroy it unto the end. — Dan. 7: 
ig-26. 

And after threescore and two 
weeks shall Messiah be cut off, 
but not for himself : and the 
people of the prince that shall 
come shall destroy the city and 
the sanctuary ; and the end 
thereof shall be with a flood, 
and unto the end of the war 
desolations are determined. 

And he shall confirm the cov- 
enant with many for one week : 
and in the midst of the week 
he shall cause the sacrifice and 
the oblation to cease, and for 
the overspreading of abomina- 
tions he shall make it desolate, 
even until the consummation, 
and that determined shall be 
poured upon the desolate. — Dan. 
g : 26, 27. 

And the king shall do accord- 
ing to his will ; and he shall 
exalt himself, and magnify him- 
self above every god, and shall 
speak marvellous things against 
the God of gods, and shall pros- 
per till the indignation be ac- 
complished : for that that is de- 
termined shall be done. — Dan. 
11: 36. 



DOES THE BIBLE THROW LIGHT ON THIS WAR? 15 

to understand prophecy from the study of fragments. It 
is only in the field of Bible study that any such false 
hope is entertained. In no other department of human 
inquiry is it expected that clear and convincing knowl- 
edge may be secured by the method which has been aptly 
called ''grasshopper'' study. 

I have mentioned, for example, in a preceding para- 
graph, ''the kingdom which the God of heaven sets up'' 
after the Gentile rule over the earth is ended. But, 
obviously, that raises the whole question of that king- 
dom — what it will be, and how it will come. The mere 
statement might well mean a half-dozen different things 
to as many different readers. There is no short cut to 
sound results in Bible study any more than in the study 
of other fields. 

It may, however, be helpful to present in outline the 
prophetic testimony concerning the end-time of Gentile 
rule over the earth, taking up throughout this book the 
proof in detail. 

1. The age ends in catastrophe. No prophetic voice 
describes the end of the "times of the Gentiles" in the 
peaceful terms which uninspired forecasters in pulpits 
and newspapers have made familiar. Daniel says that 
the end "shall be with a flood" ; and that, "unto the end 
wars and desolations are determined." The Lord Jesus 
finds in the Biblical history of the flood, and of the de- 
struction of Sodom and Gomorrah, suited pictures of 
the end-time of the age. "As it was in the days of Noah." 
"As it was in the days of Lot." The significance is 
terrible. The age which ended with the flood was pros- 
perous, busy, famous, wicked, and though warned was 
unheeding (Dan. 9:26; Luke 17:26-30; Gen. 4:21, 22; 
6:4; Matt. 24:37-39).^ When the astonished disciples 

® And after threescore and two And as it was in the days of 

weeks shall Messiah be cut off, Noe, so shall it be also in the 

but not for himself : and the days of the Son of man. 

people of the prince that shall They did eat, they drank, they 

come shall destroy the city and married wives, they were given 

the sanctuary ; and the end in marriage, until the day that 

thereof shall he with a flood, Noe entered into the ark, and 

and unto the end of the war the flood came, and destroyed 

desolations are determined. — them all. 

Dan. g : 26. Likewise also as it was in the 



16 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



would know details of place and time, our Lord referred 
them to Armageddon (Luke 17:37; Rev. 19:17-21).^ 
His foreview of the end of the age includes wars, 
famines, and pestilences, as the mere ''beginning of 
sorrows'' (Matt. 24:6-8),^^ and these deepen into the 
great tribulation which in turn is brought to a close only 
by the appearing of Christ in glory and the battle of 



days of Lot ; they did eat, they 
drank, they bought, they sold, 
they planted, they builded ; 

But the same day that Lot 
went out of Sodom it rained 
fire and biimstone from heaven, 
and destroyed tiiem all. 

Even thus shall it be in the 
day when the Son of man is 
revealed. — Liike 17:26-30. 

And his brother's name was 
Jubal : he was the father of all 
such as handle the harp and 
organ. 

And Zillah, she also bare 
Tubal-cain, an instructor of 
every artificer in brass and iron : 
and the sister of Tubal-cain zvas 
Naamah. — Gen. 4 : 21, 22. 

There were giants in the earth 
in those days ; and also after 
that, when the sons of God came 
in unto the daughters of men, 
and they bare children to them, 
the same became mighty men 
which were of old, men of re- 
nown. — Gen. 6:4. 

But as the days of Noe were, 
so shall also the coming of the 
Son of man be. 

For as in the days that were 
before the flood they were eat- 
ing and drinking, marrying, and 
giving in marriage, until the day 
that Noe entered into the ark, 

And knew not until the flood 
came, and took them all away ; 
so shall also the coming of the 
Son of man be. — Matt. 24 : 37- 

39- 

" And they answered and said 
unto him, Where, Lord ? And 
he said unto them, Wheresoever 
the body is, thither will the 
eagles be gathered together. — 
Luke 17 •■ 37- 



And I saw an angel standing 
in the sun ; and he cried with a 
loud voice, saying to all the 
fowls that fly in the midst of 
heaven. Come and gather your- 
selves together unto the supper 
of the great God ; 

That ye may eat the flesh of 
kings, and the flesh of captains, 
and the flesh of mighty men, 
and the flesh of horses, and of 
them that sit on them, and the 
flesh of all men, both free and 
bond, both small and great. 

And I saw the beast, and the 
kings of the earth, and their 
armies, gathered together to 
make war against him that sat 
on the horse, and against his 
army. 

And the beast was taken, and 
with him the false prophet that 
wrought miracles before him, 
with which he deceived them 
that had received the mark of 
the beast, and them that wor- 
shipped his image. These both 
were cast alive into a lake of 
fire burning with brimstone. 

And the remnant were slain 
with the sword of him that sat 
upon the horse, which sword 
proceeded out of his mouth : and 
all the fowls were fiilled with 
their flesh. — Rev. ig : 17-21. 

^^ And ye shall hear of wars 
and rumours of wars : see that 
ye be not troubled : for all these 
things must come to pass, but 
the end is not yet. 

For nation shall rise against 
nation, and kingdom against 
kingdom : and there shall be 
famines, and pestilences, and 
earthquakes, in divers places. 

All these are the beginning of 
sorrows. — Matt. 24 : 6-8. 



DOES THE BIBLE THROW LIGHT ON THIS WAR? 17 



Armageddon (Matt. 24 : 15-30; Rev. 19: ll-21).ii Then, 
and not till then, the ''Stone cut out without hands'' 
smites upon its feet the image of Nebuchadnezzar's 
dream — ^the image in which the whole period of Gentile 



^^ When ye therefore shall see 
the abomination of desolation, 
spoken of by Daniel the proph- 
et, stand in the holy place, (who- 
so readeth, let him understand:) 

Then let them which be in 
Judsea flee into the mountains : 

Let him which is on the house- 
top not come down to take any 
thing out of his house : 

Neither let him which is in 
the field return back to take his 
clothes. 

And woe unto them that are 
with child, and to them that give 
suck in those days ! 

But pray ye that your flight be 
not in the winter, neither on 
the sabbath day : 

For then shall be great tribu- 
lation, such as was not since the 
beginning of the world to this 
time, no, nor ever shall be. 

And except those days should 
be shortened, there should no 
■flesh be saved : but for the 
elect's sake those days shall be 
shortened. 

Then if any man shall say 
unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or 
there ; believe it not. 

For there shall arise false 
Christs, and false prophets, and 
shall shew great signs and won- 
ders : insomuch that, if it were 
possible, they shall deceive the 
very elect. 

Behold, I have told you be- 
fore. 

Wherefore if they shall say 
unto you, Behold, he is in the 
desert ; go not forth : behold, he 
is in the secret chambers ; be- 
lieve it not. 

For as the lightning cometh 
out of the east, and shineth 
even unto the west ; so shall also 
the coming of the Son of 
man be. 

For wheresoever the carcass 
is, there will the eagles be gath- 
ered together. 



Immediately after the tribula- 
tion of those days shall the sun 
be darkened, and the moon shall 
not give her light, and the stars 
shall fall from heaven, and the 
powers of the heavens shall be 
shaken : 

And then shall appear the 
sign of the Son of man in 
heaven : and then shall all the 
tribes of the earth mourn, and 
they shall see the Son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven 
with power and great glory. — 
Matt. 24 : 15-30. 

And I saw heaven opened, 
and behold a white horse ; and 
he that sat upon him was called 
Faithful and True, and in right- 
eousness he doth judge and 
make war. 

His eyes were as a flame of 
fire, and on his head were many 
crowns ; and he had a name 
written, that no man knew, but 
he himself. 

And he was clothed with a 
vesture dipped in blood : and his 
name is called The Word of 
God. 

And the armies which were 
in heaven followed him upon 
white horses, clothed in fine 
linen, white and clean. 

And out of his mouth goeth 
a sharp sword, that with it he 
should smite the nations ; and 
he shall rule them with a rod 
of iron : and he treadeth the 
winepress of the fierceness and 
wrath of Almighty God. 

And he hath on his vesture 
and on his thigh a name writ- 
ten, KING OF KINGS, AND 
LORD OF LORDS. 

And I saw an angel standing 
in the sun ; and he cried with 
a loud voice, saying to all the 
fowls that fly in the midst of 
heaven. Come and gather your- 
selves together unto the supper 
of the great God ; 



18 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



world power is set forth (Dan. 2:34, 35)^^; and then, 
and not till then, is the kingdom of the ''God of heaven" 
set up. The ''Stone" delivers the destructive blow before 
it becomes a great power, and ''fills the whole earth" 
(Dan. 2:35, 44, 45).-^^ In no sense can the destructive 
blow be said to have fallen at the first advent of Christ, 
for the smiting is upon the feet of the image — the last 
form of the fourth or Roman empire, and that empire 
had not entered upon the period of division at the time 
of the first advent. 

2. So far as the prophetic Word has spoken there is 
not the least warrant for the expectation that the nations 
engaged in the present gigantic struggle will or can 
make a permanent peace. It is fondly dreamed that 



That ye may eat the flesh of 
kings, and the flesh of captains, 
and the flesh of mighty men, and 
the flesh of horses, and of them 
that sit on them, and the flesh 
of all men, both free and bond, 
both small and great. 

And I saw the beast, and the 
kings of the earth, and their 
armies, gathered together to 
make war against him that sat 
on the horse, and against his 
army. 

And the beast was taken, and 
with him the false prophet that 
wrought miracles before him, 
with which he deceived them 
that had received the mark of 
the beast, and them that wor- 
shipped his image. These both 
were cast alive into a lake of 
fire burning with brimstone. 

And the remnant were slain 
with the sword of him that sat 
upon the horse, which sword 
proceeded out of his mouth : and 
all the fowls were filled with 
their flesh. — Rev. ig: 11-21. 

" Thou sawest till that a stone 
was cut out without hands, 
which smote the image upon his 
feet that were of iron and clay, 
and brake them to pieces. 

Then was the iron, the clay, 
the brass, the silver, and the 
gold, broken to pieces together, 



and became like the chaff of the 
summer threshingfloors ; and the 
wind carried them away, that no 
place was found for them : and 
the stone that smote the image 
became a great mountain, and 
filled the whole earth. — Dan. 2 : 
34, 35' 

^^ Then was the iron, the clay, 
the brass, the silver, and the 
gold broken to pieces together, 
and became like the chaff of the 
summer threshingfloors ; and the 
wind carried them away, that no 
place was found for them : and 
the stone that smote the image 
became a great mountain, and 
filled the whole earth. . . . 

And in the days of these kings 
shall the God of heaven set up 
a kingdom, which shall never be 
destroyed : and the kingdom 
shall not be left to other peo- 
ple, but it shall break in pieces 
and consume all these kingdoms, 
and it shall stand for ever. 

Forasmuch as thou sawest 
that the stone was cut out of 
the mountain without hands, and 
that it brake in pieces the iron, 
the brass, the clay, the silver, 
and the gold ; the great God hath 
made known to the king what 
shall come to pass hereafter : 
and the dream is certain, and 
the interpretation thereof sure. 
—Dan. 2: 35,44,45' 



DOES THE BIBLE THROW LIGHT ON THIS WAR? 19 

out of all the suffering- and carnage and destruction of 
this war will be born such a hatred of war as will bring 
to pass a federation of the nations — the United States 
of the World — in which will exist but one army, and 
that an international police, rather than an army. 

For once there is some correspondence between a 
popular dream and the prophetic Word. For that word 
certainly points to a federated world-empire in the end- 
time of the age. But that federation is headed up in the 
''little horn'' of Daniel; the ''abomination of desolation" 
of our Lord's great prophetic discourse (Matt. 24: 
15)1^; the "man of sin" of Paul (2 Thess. 2:8-10)^^; 
the beast out of the sea of Revelation 13.^^ But the peace 
which for a little time results is that of universal sub- 
jection to earth's last and most hateful despot, and it 
ends in Armageddon (Rev. 19: 11-21).^^ 

It is, of course, possible, nay, probable that some tem- 
porary truce may end, or suspend for a time, the present 
world-war, for ten kingdoms will exist at the end-time 
in the territory once ruled over by Rome. But it will 
probably be a brief truce, for it is in precisely that state 
of the old world that the Little Horn comes into the 



" When ye therefore shall see heads and ten horns, and upon 

the abomination of desolation, his horns ten crowns, and upon 

spoken of by Daniel the proph- his heads the name of blasphemy 

et, stand in the holy place, .... 

(whoso readeth, let him under- And there was given unto him 

stand:) — Matt. 24:15. a mouth speaking great things 

^^ And then shall that Wicked and blasphernies ; and power was 
be revealed, whom the Lord given unto him to continue forty 
shall consume with the spirit of and two months. 
his mouth, and shall destroy And he opened his mouth in 
with the brightness of his com- blasphemy against God, to bias- 
ing : pheme his name, and his taber- 

Even him, whose coming is nacle, and them that dwell in 

after the working of Satan with heaven. 

all power and signs and lying And it was given unto him to 

wonders, make war with the saints, and 

And with all deceivableness to overcome them : and power 

of unrighteousness in them that was given him over all kindreds, 

perish ; because they received and tongues, and nations, 

not the love of the truth, that And all that dwell upon the 

they might be saved. — 2 Thess. earth shall worship him, whose 

2:8-10. names are not written in the 

^^ And I stood upon the sand book of life of the Lamb slain 

of the sea, and saw a beast rise from the foundation of the 

up out of the sea, having seven world. — Rev. 13 : i, 5, 6, 7, 8. 



20 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVf 

scene. His appearance rekindles the flames of war, for 
he swiftly brings under his rule three of the ten king- 
doms. He will be the consummate genius of the race 
of Adam. Of him Antiochus Epiphanes and Napoleon 
Bonaparte were but adumbrations, and with him on the 
stage the final tragedy advances with incredible swift- 
ness. 

3. But across the awful chasm of a war-cursed earth 
into which Gentile world-power plunges, — is possibly 
even now plunging, — rises the blessed vision of the king- 
dom to be set up by the ''God of heaven.'' And this, and 
not the story of Gentile tyranny and bloodshed, and of 
the tragic and pathetic failure of the Gentiles to govern 
the world in righteousness, forms the great theme of 
prophecy. When the prophets describe the coming king- 
dom their pens are dipped in glory. Then — and, oh, 
how blessedly near it may be ! — earth shall have the 
golden age dreamed of by all the poets, and longed for 
by all who have loved humanity. Then shall all the 
ways of God be justified ; then shall be born the men 
and women whose intellects, disenthralled of sin, shall 
produce a civilization the beauty and power of which 
we cannot now imagine, for, ''the creation itself also 
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into 
the glorious liberty of the sons of God.'' 



II. THE PROPHET 

THE Hebrew prophet is an arresting figure. 
Lonely, antagonizing kings and priests ; austere, 
seeking no disciples; persecuted, invulnerable 
alike to bribes and threats; frequently passing 
on to martyrdom, master through the Spirit of every 
form of literary expression, a patriot filled with passion- 
ate love for Israel, — no men have appeared in human 
history more lofty in character or of higher courage. 

The prophet formed no part of the organized life of 
the Hebrew Commonwealth. He bore no office which 
constituted him a prophet. The normal agency for the 
communication of the Divine will in special emergencies 
lay in a promise' to the priesthood : 

''And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune 
with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the 
two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, 
of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto 
the children of Israel" (Exod. 25:22). 

But communion with God is a spiritual act. The High 
Priest had the privilege of that communion as represent- 
ing the people before God, but that privilege of necessity 
supposed a High Priest in happy, humble fellowship with 
God. Even the believer of to-day, who is in possession 
of the written Word of God, and who is indwelt by the 
Spirit of God, must himself be spiritual before he can 
comiprehend the deeper meanings and messages of that 
Word. "He that is spiritual judgeth'' (1 Cor. 2: 15) is 
still the inflexible condition. It was, therefore, when the 
priests became mere performers of a ritual, unspiritual, 
avaricious, conceiving the religion of Jehovah to lie in 
external acts and ceremonies, that prophets appeared. 
The appearing tJt Israel of a prophet always meant that 
Jehovah had a controversy mth his people. 

21 



22 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

It is most instructive to note the qualifications of a 
prophet. In the beginning he was called ''the man of 
God" (for example, 1 Sam. 2:27).^ It was not a 
divinely bestowed designation ; it was the unconscious 
testimony of the people among whom he lived to his life 
and character. I have been told that some years ago 
''Billy" Sunday wrote a letter to the late Major Cole, 
the evangelist, addressing it, "To the Man of God, Ad- 
rian, Michigan." When that letter reached Adrian there 
was neither delay nor hesitation in its delivery. Within 
an hour it was in Major Cole's hands. Adrian knew 
that "a man of God" dwelt in their midst. 

Then this man of God came to be called the ''seer,'' 
the man who could see (for example, 2 Sam. 24: 11).^ 
Like Moses he "endured as seeing him who is invisible." 
He was a man whose eyes God had opened (Num. 
24:3),^ and God could do that because he was ''a man 
of God." And so, being God's man in Israel, and having 
for that reason the vision of God, he became a "prophet" 
— Jehovah's spokesman to Israel. 

It has been well said that the Hebrew prophet was not 
primarily so much a foreteller as a forthteller — a fear- 
less, inspired voice of rebuke, instruction in righteous- 
ness, exhortation, and warning. And this part of his 
ministry concerned not only the individual conscience of 
the Israelite, but even more the corporate life and con- 
duct of Israel the nation. He was invariably a patriot 
burning with the conviction that to his nation had been 
given a priestly and spiritual relation to the Gentile 
nations as representing the one and only true God, and 
the blessedness of that people whose God was Jehovah. 
He knew that while nations rose and fell, the little com- 
monwealth of Israel had but to abide in obedience and 



^ And there came a man of Lord came unto the prophet 

God unto Eli, and said unto him, Gad, David's seer. — 2 Sam. 24 : 

Thus saith the Lord, Did I jj 

plainly appear unto the house of 3 . , , , , . _-^_i,i. 

thy father, when they were in ^^^^^ ^^ [^^^ "P ^'^ parable. 

Egypt in Pharaoh's house?— and said, Balaam the son of Beor 

/ Sam. 2:27. hath said, and the man whose 

^ For when David was up in eyes are open hath said. — Num. 

the morning, the word of the 24 : j. 



THE PROPHET 23 

loyalty to her unseen King, to rest secure and invulner- 
able under his protection (Psa. 89: 18 and preceding).* 

The primary ministry of the prophets, therefore, was 
patriotic and intensely ethical. They saw peace for Israel 
only through righteousness (Isa. 32: 17, for example).® 
Nothing else would answer. On that high condition and 
no other would Jehovah throw about the land which he 
had given to his people the invisible wall of his protec- 
tion; on that condition and no other should the people 
be at peace among themselves; on that condition and no 
other might the individual Israelite be at peace in his 
own soul. In no part of the Scriptures does the ethical 
demand rise to greater heights. The Sermon on the 
Mount is but the ethical teaching of the prophets lifted 
to its highest potency. 

But along with this inflexible demand for righteous- 
ness, the prophets revealed attributes and characteristics 
in God so lovely, so tender, so faithful, that to remain 
in ignorance of the prophetic writings is to deprive the 
soul of a vision of God which every soul of man deeply 
needs. 

The patriotic and ethical messages of the prophets fell 
upon ears grown dull of hearing. The little nation had 
become rich and ambitious. False prophets abounded, 
and then as now their message w^as, 'Teace, peace.'' 
They were pleasantly optimistic while the true prophets 
were warning of judgment and captivity. To the stern- 
est and most unsparing of his own prophets Jehovah 
said, "And, lo, thou art unto them as a very lovely song 
of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on 
an instrument : for they hear thy w^ords, but they do them 
not." The people felt the power of Ezekiel and flocked 
to hear him, as we do to-day under like circumstances. 

It is then, when warnings and pleadings are unheeded, 
that predictive prophecy awakes, and the future is re- 
vealed. A familiar and striking illustration of this prin- 

* For the Lord is our defence, ness shall be peace ; and the 

and the Holy One of Israel is effect of righteousness quietness 

our king. — Psalm 8g : i8. and assurance for ever. — Isa. 

^And the work of righteous- 32 : 17. 



24 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

ciple is the ^rreat ''Immanuel" prediction of Isaiah 7: 
10-14.^ 

Under the menace of an impending invasion of Judah 
by Samaria, leagued with Syria, Isaiah sought to bring 
King Ahaz back to faith in Jehovah. He was given the 
unprecedented privilege of himself choosing a sign that 
might serve as a support to his faith. The king refused 
even to ask. And then came the burst of predictive 
prophecy, the supreme ''sign,'' not to the apostate king, 
but to the "house of David" ; the ''sign" that made every 
maiden descendant of David from that time, — for the 
"sign'' has no time-note, — the possible mother of the 
Messiah. 

And these men, thus raised up of God, left to suc- 
ceeding generations a body of writings unsurpassed if 
not unequaled in all literature, sacred or secular, in the 
great qualities of simplicity, directness, striking imagery, 
biting invective, and lofty splendor of eloquence. Au- 
thenticated by Jesus Christ and by the inspired writers 
of the New Testament ; quoted, declared to be in many 
respects fulfilled, but holding also a far greater body of 
prediction as yet unfulfilled ; called by the Apostle Peter 
"a light that shineth in a dark place" to w^hich we of 
this age "do well" that we "take heed" — there is yet a 
neglect of the prophetic writings which has no parallel 
in our attitude toward any other great and serious liter- 
ature. 

It is impossible tO' overstate the loss to spirituality, to 
comprehension of God in himself and in his immutable 
purposes toward the earth and the race of men, resulting 
from this stupid neglect of nearly one-fourth in bulk 
of the Bible. 

The fundamental factors of human life are unchang- 
ing, and the apparent changes are superficial. It has 

* Moreover the Lord spake O house of David ; 7^ it a small 

again unto Ahaz, saying, thing for you to weary men, but 

Ask thee a sign of the Lord will ye weary my God also? 
thy God ; ask it either in the Therefore the Lord himself 

depth, or in the height above. shall give you a sign ; Behold, a 

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, virgin shall conceive, and bear a 

neither will I tempt the Lord. son, and shall call his name Im- 

And he said. Hear ye now, manuel. — Isa. y : 10-14. 



THE PROPHET 25 

been the fond dream of modern optimism that civiHza- 
tion — that civihzation which until yesterday we have been 
accustomed to call "Christian'' — had modified primitive 
human nature. The present world-war has completely 
undeceived us. Man has not changed, nor has God. 
What God thought in the times of the prophets he thinks 
now. Quite apart, therefore, from the predictive element 
in prophecy, the revelation through the prophets of the 
mind of God, and of the divine nature and motives has 
a permanent and altogether inestimable value. 

Christians in myriads, and strangest of all, ministers 
of the Word, thus remain in willing ignorance of this 
great body of truth. 

Of preaching men this statement would be incredible 
if it were not so patently true. For no greater preach- 
ers have appeared among men than the Hebrew prophets. 
The prophetic writings are for the most part sermons. 
It is amazing that the teachers of homiletics do not 
enrich their instructions from these masterly discourses. 
Surely one would think it might be worth while to set 
students to the work of a reverent analysis of such 
sermons as those of Jeremiah In the Gate of the ^King's 
House; or the first sermon of Isaiah to Backslidden 
Israel; or Jeremiah's sermon on The Broken Covenant. 
Is anything in sermonic literature better worth study 
than Isaiah's discourse on The Stretched-out Hand? 
Might it not be a most rewarding use of a little time 
for preachers to study the art of Isaiah's sermon on 
The Six Woes? Has anything in the way of sermonic 
introduction been better done than Isaiah's leading up 
to his theme in that sermon ? 

Still more surprising is it that the predictive element 
in prophecy, so far as this remains unfulfilled, should 
engage so sHght an interest in those whom God would 
fain take into his confidence. For prophecy, while refus- 
ing any satisfaction to mere curiosity, does, nevertheless, 
give in broad and" clear outline the program of the future 
of the earth and of human life and destiny thereon. 

There can be no doubt that the prophetic writings 
have been wounded in the house of their friends. Sane 
and thoughtful men have turned in weariness or disgust 



26 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

from the wild interpretations of well-meaning but ill- 
taught men. To these wild interpreters the most remote 
analogy between a prophecy and some passing or histori- 
cal event has been sufficient warrant for declaring a ful- 
filment. The so-called ''historical" interpretation of the 
Apocalypse, which finds in historic events the fulfilment 
of explicit predictions having no real likeness to the 
alleged fulfilment, may serve as illustrating this dogmatic 
but wholly imaginary kind of prophetic interpretation. 

But the evil of so-called ''spiritualizing'' of prophecies, 
which came over into Protestantism from Rome, is the 
greater cause of the neglect of these writings. That 
interpretation which finds in the Qiristian Church the 
fulfilment of the numerous and explicit predictions which 
the prophets themselves declare relate to Israel, and to 
the kingdom covenanted to David and his seed, suffi- 
ciently explains the common attitude of neglect toward 
prophecy. For no other writings, Divine or human, are 
thus interpreted. No one even proposes to interpret a 
statute, or a contract, or a friendly letter, by a method 
so grotesque; and the consequence of the attempt seri- 
ously to apply that method to prophetic interpretation 
results, by a law of the human mind, in utter weariness 
and confusion. 

Approach these writings as all other writings are 
approached ; give these great preachers enough reverence 
to suppose that they were as capable of using language 
in its ordinary meaning as other preachers and writers ; 
follow Peter's great rule of interpreting every prediction 
in harmony with all the other predictions on that sub- 
ject (2 Pet. 1: 19-21)'^; bring to the study a reverent 
desire to know, not merely that which is coming to pass, 
but the mind of God about life, and you will surely find 
Prophecy a mine of richest spiritual treasure. 

^ Knowing this first, that no any private interpretation. — 2 
prophecy of the scripture is of Pet. i : 20, 



III. THE ETHICAL MESSAGE 

ISRAEL failed in not fulfilling the purpose for which 
she had been set apart. Because of this failure, the 
prophets were called upon to deliver their ethical 
message. It will be well for us to have in clear 
vision the purpose for which God had set apart Israel. 

From the creation of man to the call of Abram the 
race is treated as a unit. Future racial distinctions are 
indicated in the declarations concerning the sons of Noah 
(Gen. 9: 25-27)/ but prior to the call of Abram the cov- 
enants of God conditioning human life had a universal 
application, as had also the divine requirements. The 
first eleven chapters of Genesis recount three distinct 
testings of humanity under three specific covenants. 

The Edenic Covenant (Gen. 2: 15-17)^ conditioned the 
life of man in innocency — unfallen man. Made lord of 
creation, placed in a perfect environment, given absolute 
liberty in the use of all things needful for his full devel- 
opment, and such occupation as guarded him from the 
curse of idleness, one, and only one, prohibition limited 
his freedom; he must not know evil. He deliberately 
violated that prohibition ( 1 Tim. 2 : 14) ,^ with conse- 
quences disastrous to the race of which he was the father 



^ And he said, Cursed he And the Lord God commanded 

Canaan ; a servant of servants the man, saying, Of every tree 

shall he be unto his brethren. of the garden thou mayest freely 

And he said, Blessed he the eat : 

Lord God of Shem ; and Canaan But of the tree of the knowl- 

shall be his servant. edge of good and evil, thou shalt 

God shall enlarge Japheth, not eat of it : for in the day that 

and he shall dwell in the tents thou eatest thereof thou shalt 

of Shem ; and Canaan shall be surely die. Gen 2 : 15-17, 

his servant. — Gen. 9 ; 25-27. ^ * j a j ^ - a 

' And the Lord God took the ^"^ ^^^^ w^s not deceived, 

man, and put him into the gar- but the woman being deceived 

den of Eden to dress it and to was in the transgression. — i 

keep it. Tim, 2 : 14. 

27 



28 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



and head (Rom. 5:12; Psa. 14: 1,2; 51: 5; 1 Cor. 2 : 14; 
15:22).^ 

The Adamic Covenant (Gen. 3: 14-19)^ conditions the 
life on the earth of a fallen race. Physical death is the 
end of life. Toil is given as a condition of maintain- 
ing life. But upon this dark result of the fall of man 
shines the great evangelic promise of the Satan-Bruiser — 
the Seed of the woman. The knowledge of good and 
evil awoke conscience, and the moral testing of the race 
under conscience was the requirement that man should do 
good and not evil. The result after two thousand years 
was given in the divine declaration : ''God saw that the 
wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every 
imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil 
continually" (Gen. 6:5). The judgment of the Flood 
ended not conscience, indeed, but the testing of man 
under conscience. This Adamic Covenant, the testing of 
man under conscience, has still a racial obligation upon 



* Wherefore, as by one man 
sin entered into the world, and 
death by sin ; and so death 
passed upon all men, for that all 
have sinned. — Rom. 5 ; 12. 

The fool hath said in his 
heart. There is no God. They 
are corrupt, they have done 
abominable works, there is none 
that doeth good. 

The Lord looked down from 
heaven upon the children of men, 
to see if there were any that 
did understand, and seek God. — 
Psalm 14 : i, 2. 

Behold, I was shapen in in- 
iquity ; and in sin did my mother 
conceive me. — Psalm 31 : 5. 

But the natural man receiveth 
not the things of the Spirit of 
God : for they are foolishness 
unto him : neither can he know 
them, because they are spiritually 
discerned. — / Cor. 2:14. 

For as in Adam all die, even 
so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. — / Cor. 15:22. 

° And the Lord God said unto 
the serpent, Because thou hast 
done this, thou art cursed above 
all cattle, and above every beast 



of the field ; upon thy belly shalt 
thou go, and dust shalt thou eat 
all the days of thy life. 

And I will put enmity between 
thee and the woman, and be- 
tween thy seed and her seed ; it 
shall bruise thy head, and thou 
shalt bruise his heel. 

Unto the woman he said, I will 
greatly multiply thy sorrow and 
thy conception ; in sorrow thou 
shalt bring forth children, and 
thy desire shall he to thy hus- 
band, and he shall rule over thee. 

And unto Adam he said. Be- 
cause thou hast hearkened unto 
the voice of thy wife, and hast 
eaten of the tree, of which I com- 
manded thee, saying, Thou shalt 
not eat of it : cursed is the ground 
for thy sake ; in sorrow shalt thou 
eat of it all the days of thy life, 

Thorns also and thistles shall 
it bring forth to thee, and thou 
shalt eat the herb of the field ; 

In the sweat of thy face shalt 
thou eat bread, till thou return 
unto the ground ; for out of it 
wast thou taken : for dust thou 
art, and unto dust shalt thou re- 
turn. — Gen. $: 14-19. 



THE ETHICAL MESSAGE 29 

those who know neither the law nor the Gospel, but it 
brings as in the days of the Flood only condemnation 
(Rom. 2:12, et seq.).^ 

The Covenant to Noah (Gen. 9: 5, 6y established the 
principle of human government, the rule of man over 
men. It is still the charter of all civil government; for 
the right to take, judicially, human life is the highest 
function of government. Obviously the responsibility 
was to govern righteously, and the result was Babel and 
the judgment of the confusion of tongues. 

With the migration of the survivors of the Flood and 
their posterity began the division of humanity into tribes 
and, ultimately, nations. These, w4th the single excep- 
tion of the family of Shem, who had been set apart for 
a special relation to God in the Noahic Covenant (Gen. 
9:26, 27),^ soon became idolaters, and lost the knowl- 
edge of the true God. In Romans 1:21-23^ the steps 
of that utter apostasy are traced, and the moving cause 
disclosed: ''They did not like to retain God in their 
knowledge," — literally, ^'did not approve God'' (Rom. 
1:28). 

Hitherto, wath one exception (the confusion of 
tongues, Gen. 11:6-9)^^ the solidarity of the Adamic 

^ For as many as have sinned ® Because that, when they knew 

without law shall also perish God, they glorified him not as 

without law : and as many as ^^^^ neither were thankful ; but 

have sinned in the law shall be ^^^^^^ Y^^^ .^^. ^^5^^ imagma- 
• J J u xi- 1 D .^ tions, and their foolish heart was 

judged by the law.— 7^c7m. 2: 12. darkened 

^And surely your blood of Professing themselves to be 

your lives will I require ; at the wise, they became fools, 

hand of every beast will I re- And changed the glory of the 

quire it, and at the hand of man ; uncorruptible God into an image 

at the hand of every man's made like to corruptible man, 

brother will I require the life of and to birds, and fourfooted 

man. beasts, and creeping things. — 

Whoso sheddeth man's blood, Rom. i : 21-23. 

by man shall his blood be shed : ^^ And the Lord said. Behold, 

for in the image of God made he the people is one, and they have 

man. — Gen. 9 : 5, 6. all one language ; and this they 

^And he said. Blessed he the begin to do and now nothing 

Lord God of Shem; and Canaan will be restrained from them, 

shall be his servant. which they have imagined to do. 

God shall enlarge Japheth, and Go to, let us go down, and 

he shall dwell in the tents of there confound their language, 

Shem ; and Canaan shall be his that they may not understand 

servant. — Gen. 9 : 26^ 2/. one another's speech. 



30 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



race had been preserved. But noAv God begins to act 
upon the special promise to Shem: ''God shall enlarge 
Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem" (Gen. 
9:27). One of the Semitic stock, Abram, is called out 
of Ur in Chaldea that in and through him and his seed 
the great redemptive purposes of God toward the whole 
race might be worked out. In Abraham, and in the 
Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:1-3; 13:15, 16; 15:18 
and preceding) ^^ the nation which came to be called 
Israel, after the grandson of Abraham, to whom the 
Abrahamic Covenant was confirmed (Gen. 28:13 et 
seq.)^'^ was set apart to a special work on behalf of 
Jehovah with the whole of humanity as the objective. 
This breadth of the divine intent is the sufficient answer 
to the charge of partiality in the choice of Israel whidh 
is sometimes ignorantly brought (Gen. 12 : 3 ; Isa. 2 : 2-4 ; 
5:26; 9:1,2; Jer. 16:19; Joel 3:9, 10).^^ 



So the Lord scattered them 
abroad from thence upon the 
face of all the earth : and they 
left off to build the city. 

Therefore is the name of it 
called Babel ; because the Lord 
did there confound the language 
of all the earth ; and from thence 
did the Lord scatter them abroad 
upon the face of all the earth. — 
Gen. II : 6-g. 

" Now the Lord had said unto 
Abram, Get thee out of thy 
country, and from thy kindred, 
and from thy father's house, 
unto a land that I will shew 
thee : 

And I will make of thee a 
great nation, and I will bless 
thee, and make thy name great ; 
and thou shalt be a blessing : 

And I will bless them that 
bless thee, and curse him that 
curseth thee : and in thee shall 
all families of the earth be 
blessed. — Gen. 12:1-3. 

For all the land which thou 
seest, to thee will I give it, and 
to thy seed for ever. 

And I will make thy seed as 
the dust of the earth : so that if 
a man can number the dust of 
the earth, iJien shall thy seed 



also be numbered. — Gen. 13:15, 
16. 

In the same day the Lord 
made a covenant with Abram, 
saying, Unto thy seed have I 
given this land, from the river 
of Egypt unto the great river, 
the river Euphrates. — Gen. 15: 
18. 

" And, behold, the Lord stood 
above it, and said, I am the Lord 
God of Abraham thy father, and 
the God of Isaac : the land 
whereon thou liest, to thee will 
I give it, and to thy seed. — Gen. 
28 : 13. 

^"And I will bless them that 
bless thee, and curse him that 
curseth thee : and in thee shall 
all families of the earth be 
blessed. — Gen. 12:3. 

And it shall come to pass in 
the last days, that the mountain 
of the Lord's house shall be es- 
tablished in the top of the moun- 
tains, and shall be exalted above 
the hills ; and all nations shall 
flow unto it. 

And many people shall go and 
say, Come ye, and let us go up 
to the mountain of the Lord, to 
the house of the God of Jacob ; 
and he will teach us of his ways. 



THE ETHICAL MESSAGE 



31 



The nation descended from Abraham was chosen to be : 

1. A witness to the unity of God in the midst of uni- 
versal idolatry (Deut. 6:4; Isa. 43 : 10, 11.)^^ 

2. To illustrate to the nations the blessedness of that 
people whose God is Jehovah (Deut. 33:26-29.)^^ 

3. To receive and transmit the divine revelations. 
(Rom. 3: 1, 2; Deut. 4: 5, 6 et seq.)^^ 



and we will walk in his paths : 
for out of Zion shall go forth 
the law, and the word of the 
Lord from Jerusalem. 

And he shall judge among the 
nations, and shall rebuke many 
people : and they shall beat their 
swords into plowshares, and 
their spears into pruning hooks : 
nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they 
learn war any more. — Isa. 2: 
2-4. 

And he will lift up an en- 
sign to the nations from far, 
and will hiss unto them from 
the end of the earth : and, be- 
hold, they shall come with speed 
swiftly. — Isa. 5 : 26. 

Nevertheless the dimness shall 
not he such as was in her vexa- 
tion, when at the first he lightly 
afflicted the land of Zebulun and 
the land of Naphtali, and after- 
ward did more grievously afflict 
her by the way of the sea, be- 
yond Jordan, in Galilee of the 
nations. 

The people that walked in 
darkness have seen a great light : 
they that dwell in the land of 
the shadow of death, upon them 
hath the light shined. — Isa. 9 : 
I, 2. 

O Lord, my strength, and my 
fortress, and my refuge in the 
day of affliction, the Gentiles 
shall come unto thee from the 
ends of the earth, and shall say, 
Surely our fathers have inher- 
ited lies, vanity, and things 
wherein there is no profit. — Jer. 
16 : 19. 

Proclaim ye this among the 
Gentiles ; Prepare war, wake up 
the mighty men, let all the men 



of war draw near; let them 
come up : 

Beat your plowshares into 
swords, and your pruning hooks 
into spears : let the weak say, I 
am strong. — Joel 3 : 9, 10. 

'*Hear, O Israel: The Lord 
our God is one Lord. — Deiit. 6 : 
4- 

Ye are my witnesses, saith 
the Lord, and my servant v/hom 
I have chosen : that ye may 
know and believe me, and under- 
stand that I am he : before me 
there was no God formed, 
neither shall there be after me. 

I, even I, am the Lord ; and 
beside me there is no saviour. — 
Isa^ 43 : 10, II. 

^^ There is none like unto the 
God of Jeshurun, who rideth 
upon the heaven in thy help, 
and in his excellency on the 
sky. 

The eternal God is thy refuge, 
and underneath are the ever- 
lasting arms : and he shall 
thrust out the enemy from be- 
fore thee ; and shall say, De- 
stroy them. 

Israel then shall dwell in 
safety alone : the fountain of 
Jacob shall he upon a land of 
corn and wine ; also his heavens 
shall drop down dew. 

Happy art thou, O Israel : 
who is like unto thee, O people 
saved by the Lord, the shield of 
thy help, and who is the sword 
of thy excellency ! and thine 
enemies shall be found liars unto 
thee ; and thou shalt tread upon 
their high places. — Deut. 33 : 26- 
29. 

^^What advantage then hath 
the Jew? or what profit is there 
of circumcision ? 



2>2 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 

4. To bring- forth the Messiah ; Seed of the woman 
(Gen. 3:15/1^ ^^^^1 ^j Abraham (Gen. 21:3; Matt. 
1:1; Gal. 3:16)i^ son of David (Matt. 1:1)^^ Son 
of God (Luke 1:35)-^ and Son of man (Matt. 16: 
13).-i 

In the first and second of these trusts committed to 
the chosen nation there was conspicuous failure. Again 
and again the people fell into idolatry, thus breaking* 
down in their testimony to the unity and spirituality of 
God. The immoral and unrighteous conduct so rife in 
Israel broke down the national testimony to the blessed- 
ness of that people whose God is the Lord. Another 
grave fault was manifested in a constant tendency to 
depart from the separateness enjoined upon the nation 
as the subjects of their unseen King, Jehovah, For Israel 
was a Theocracy. Set between Gentile powers mightier 
than they, and which were constantly increasing in power, 
the divine legislation upon which the commonwealth of 
Israel was organized provided for neither army nor fort- 
ress. And, so long as loyalty to Jehovah and the spirit 
of obedience remained, no hostile foot crossed the fron- 

Much every way : chiefly, be- The book of the generation 

cause that unto them were com- of Jesus Christ, the son of 

mitted the oracles of God. — David, the son of Abraham. — 

Rom. 3 : i, 2. Matt, i : i. 

Behold, I have taught you Now to Abraham and his seed 

statutes and judgments, even as were the promises made. He 

the Lord my God commanded saith not. And to seeds, as of 

me, that ye should do so in the many, but as of one. And to thy 

land whither ye go to possess it. seed, which is Christ. — Gal. 3 : 

Keep therefore and do them; 16. 
for this is your wisdom and ^^ The book of the generation 

your understanding in the sight of Jesus Christ, the son of 

of the nations, which shall hear David, the son of Abraham. — 

all these statutes, and say, Matt. 1:1. 

Surely this great nation is a ^^ And the angel answered and 

wise and understanding people. said unto her, The Holy Ghost 

— Dent. 4:5,6. shall come upon thee, and the 

^' And I will put enmity be- power of the Highest shall over- 

tween thee and the woman, and shadow thee : therefore also that 

between thy seed and her seed ; holy thing which shall be born 

it shall bruise thy head, and thou of thee shall be called the Son 

shalt bruise his heel. — Gen. 3: of God. — Luke i : 33. 
J 5' '^^ When Jesus came into the 

^®And Abraham called the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he 

name of his son that was born asked his disciples, saying, 

unto him, whom Sarah bare to Whom do men say that I the 

him, Isaac. — Gen, 21: 3. Son of man am? — Matt. 16:13. 



THE ETHICAL MESSAGE 



33 



tiers of Palestine. An unseen Power guarded Immanuers 
land. 

These failures constituted the grounds of Jehovah's 
controversy with Israel — a controversy in which the 
prophets were the spokesmen for Israel's King. That 
controversy, which I can but summarize, followed the 
lines of the great warning passage, Deuteronomy 28: 
15-19, etseq.; 29: 24-28,22 

It is important to bear in mind that, when the greater 
of the writing prophets appeared, the preliminary and 
warning chastisements of the disobedient nation foretold 
in the Deuteronomic passage had already fallen. Al- 
ready, in Elijah's time, the warning drought had been 
sent (Deut. 28:23, 24; 1 Kings 17: 1),^^ and the 
land had been invaded (Deut. 28:25; 1 Kings 14:25, 
26). 2^ There remained but the alternatives of the re- 



^- But it shall come to pass, 
if thou wilt not hearken unto the 
voice of the Lord thy God, to 
observe to do all his command- 
ments and his statutes which I 
command thee this day ; that all 
these curses shall come upon 
thee, and overtake thee : 

Cursed shalt thou he in the 
city, and cursed shalt thou he in 
the field. 

Cursed shall he thy basket 
and thy store. 

Cursed shall he the fruit of 
thy body, and the frujt of thy 
land, the increase of thy kine, 
and the flocks of thy sheep. 

Cursed shalt thou he when 
thou comest in, and cursed shalt 
thou he when thou goest out. — 
Deut. 28 : 15-19. 

Even all nations shall say, 
Wherefore hath the Lord done 
thus unto this land ? what mean- 
eth the heat of this great anger? 

Then men shall say. Because 
they have forsaken the covenant 
of the Lord God of their fathers, 
which he made with them when 
he brought them forth out of the 
land of Egypt : 

For they went and served 
other gods, and worshipped 



them, gods whom they knew 
not, and zvhom he had not given 
unto them : 

And the anger of the Lord 
v/as kindled against this land, 
to bring upon it all the curses 
that are written in this book : 

And the Lord rooted them 
out of their land in anger, and 
in wrath, and in great indigna- 
tion, and cast them into another 
land, as it is this day. — Deut. 
29 : 24-28. 

^And thy heaven that is over 
thy head shall be brass, and the 
earth that is under thee shall he 
iron. 

The Lord shall make the rain 
of thy land powder and dust : 
from heaven shall it come down 
upon thee, until thou be de- 
stroyed — Deut. 28 : 23, 24. 

And Elijah the Tishbite, who 
was of the inhabitants of Gilead, 
said unto Ahab, As the Lord God 
of Israel liveth, before whom 
I stand, there shall not be dew 
nor rain these years, but ac- 
cording to my word. — / Kings 
17 : I. 

^ The Lord shall cause thee to 
be smitten before thine enemies : 
thou shalt go out one way 



34 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

pentance of the nation or the foretold expulsion from 
the land. And this was the urgent warning- note of the 
prophetic testimony. Jehovah would no longer stultify 
his holiness by continuing as his representative among 
the Gentile nations a people in no sense better than they. 

Israel had failed Jehovah, but it should be borne in 
mind that Israel was disowned and sent into captivity 
because of sin. Jehovah rests his condemnation of the 
nation upon no narrow ground, no mere tribal failure. 
''Thou hast made me to serve with thy sins" (Isa. 43: 
24). ''Your iniquities have separated between you and 
your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, 
that he will not hear" (Isa. 59:2). "Yea, all Israel 
have transgressed thy law, even by departing, that they 
might not obey thy voice; therefore the curse is poured 
upon us, and the oath that is written in the law of Moses 
the servant of God, because we have sinned against him" 
(Dan. 9:11). 

No distinction can be made in this respect between the 
ethical messages of the prophets who prophesied in the 
northern kingdom and those who were sent to Judah. 
The broad ground of condemnation in both cases is the 
same. Both Ephraim and Judah had sinned. 

But in these messages of rebuke there is such a dis- 
closure of the mind of God concerning human conduct 
as invests the prophetic writings with a permanent and 
intensely vital interest. 

The central word of the prophets is righteousness. 
Israel was a people under law; that is, a people from 
whom Jehovah demanded righteousness as, under grace, 
he bestows righteousness through faith (Rom. 3:19- 
22). 25 

against them, and flee seven house ; he even took away all : 

ways before them : and shalt be and he took away all the shields 

removed into all the kingdoms of gold which Solomon had 

of the earth. — Dent. 28:25. made. — / Kings 14:25,26. 

And it came to pass in the ^ Now we know that what 

fifth year of king Rehoboam, things soever the law saith, it 

that Shishak king of Egypt saith to them who are under the 

came up against Jerusalem : law : that every mouth may be 

And he took away the treas- stopped, and all the world may 

ures of the house of the Lord, become guilty before God. 

and the treasures of the king's Therefore by the deeds of the 



THE ETHICAL MESSAGE 35 

But Israel was making righteousness to consist in 
formal religion instead of in right faith evidenced by 
right conduct. It is a mistake that millions of formal 
religionists are making in this day. The refusal of God 
to accept that substitution is expressed by his prophets 
with an emphasis that has in it an element of scorn. 

It should be remembered that while Israel was substi- 
tuting religious formalism for righteousness, it was still 
the religion given at Sinai. It was still a far cry to the 
day when the Pharisee would 'be going up to the temple 
to pray ''with himself' (Luke 18: 11)^6 ^^d to boast of 
fasting and tithe-paying. All that came later. The re- 
ligion that Jehovah would not accept as righteousness 
was scrupulously according to Leviticus. 

The reproach of Jehovah was not that his altars were 
forsaken, but that the sacrifices were without faith, and 
offered by unclean hands. 

"To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices 
unto me ? saith the Lord : I am full of the burnt offerings 
of rams, and the fat of fed beasts.'' 

''Bring no more vain oblations ; incense is an abomina- 
tion unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling 
of assemblies, I cannot aw^ay with ; it is iniquity, even 
the solemn meeting." 

As over against a ritual righteousness, the prophets 
by the word of the Lord insist on a righteousness of 
conduct. But this insistence, while absolute and unquali- 
fied, is cast in a form of expression which shows how 
tenderly Jehovah yearned over his people. A lovely 
illustration of both the insistence and the tenderness is 
the beautiful parable of the Vineyard of Jehovah (Isa. 
5 : 7, and preceding) .^'^ 

law there shall no flesh be justi- them that believe : for there is 
fied in his sight: for by the no difference.— i^om. 3:19-22. 

law is the knowledge of sin. _ ^^^t. ^^^""-fru- ^^^^^ r^A 

T^ , .1 • 1 . f Drayed thus with himself, God, 

But now the righteousness of i ^hank thee, that I am not as 

God without the law is mani- other men are, extortioners, un- 

fested, being witnessed by the just, adulterers, or even as this 

law and the prophets ; publican. —-Li^^^ 18 : 11. 

77 ,1, . i_^ i For the vineyard of the Lord 
Even ^ the righteousness of ^f ^osts is the house of Israel, 
God which IS by faith of Jesus and the men of Tudah his pleas- 
Christ unto all and upon all ant plant : and he looked for 



36 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY^ 

The words of Micah (6:8) may be taken as a sum- 
mary of the righteousness demanded, on behalf of Jeho- 
vah, by the prophets: "And what doth the Lord require 
of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk 
humbly with thy God ?'' Or, as given through Zechariah 
(8:16, 17) >^^ 

Plain honesty in all dealings, chastity, humility, rev- 
erence, penitence — these are the qualities which are em- 
phasized as those which, under law, make a people 
acceptable with God, and for the lack of which the 
nation, after his long forbearance, must endure the chas- 
tisement of captivity and dispersion. 

judgment, but behold oppres- cute the judgment of truth and 

sion; for righteousness, but be- P^^^^^^? r^"" ^^^^/ ' 

And let none of you imagine 

hold a cry. — Isa. 3 : 7, evil in your hearts against his 

^« These are the things that ye neighbour ; and love no false 

, „ J c' 1 oath : for all these are things 

shall do; Speak ye every man that I hate, saith the Lord.— 

the truth to his neighbour; exe- Zech. 8 : 16, 17. 



IV. THE MESSIAH 



IN mere bulk the ministry of the Old Testament proph- 
ets to their own time, the controversy of Jehovah 
with his people, far exceeds that devoted to predic- 
tion. The great predictive messages, indeed, grow^ 
out of the condition of Israel at the time when the prophet 
appears, and are for the instruction and comfort of the na- 
tion in view of the coming captivities and dispersion. 
Typical passages are Isaiah 7 : 10-14,^ where the refusal of 
the wicked King Ahaz to put God to a test which might 
have restored his faith brought forth the great Messianic 
prediction of the Virgin's Son; chapters 60 and 61 ^ of 
the same book, where predictions of approaching dis- 
ciplinary judgments are followed by wonderful assur- 



^ Moreover the Lord spake 
again unto Ahaz, saying, 

Ask thee a sign of the Lord 
thy God ; ask it either in the 
depth, or in the height above. 

But Ahaz said, I will not ask, 
neither will I tempt the Lord. 

And he said, Hear ye now, 
O house of David ; Is it a small 
thing for you to weary men, but 
will ye weary my God also ? 

Therefore the Lord himself 
shall give you a sign ; Behold, a 
virgin shall conceive, and bear a 
son, and shall call his name Im- 
manuel. — Isa. y .'10-14. 

^ Arise, shine ; for thy light is 
come, and the glory of the Lord 
is risen upon thee. 

For, behold, the darkness shall 
cover the earth, and gross dark- 
ness the people : but the Lord 
shall arise upon thee, and his 
glory shall be seen upon thee. 

And the Gentiles shall come 



to thy light, and kings to the 
brightness of thy rising. Etc. — 
Isa. 60. 

The Spirit of the Lord God is 
upon me ; because the Lord hath 
anointed me to preach good tid- 
ings unto the meek ; he hath 
sent me to bind up the broken- 
hearted, to proclaim liberty to 
the captives, and the opening of 
the prison to them that are 
bound ; 

To proclaim the acceptable 
year of the Lord, and the day 
of vengeance of our God ; to 
comfort all that mourn ; 

To appoint unto them that 
mourn in Zion, to give unto them 
beauty for ashes, the oil of joy 
for mourning, the garment of 
praise for the spirit of heavi- 
ness ; that they might be called 
trees of righteousness, the plant- 
ing of the Lord, that he might 
be glorified. Etc. — Isa. 61. 



37 



38 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



ances of the perpetuity of the Divine covenants with 
Israel (for example, 59:20, 21).^ 

The great themes of predictive prophecy are the com- 
ing of Messiah ; the future restoration of Israel to the 
land, the national conversion ( Jer. 31 : 6-12)^ ; the exalta- 
tion of the nation to be first of the nations; and the 
blessing of the whole earth in the kingdom of Messiah. 
Then, overleaping all intervening ''times" and ''ages,'' 
predictive prophecy goes to the end of the present age 
and gives the detail of all this the "great and dreadful'' 
day of Jehovah; the rise of the man of sin; the great 
tribulation ; the second advent of Christ ; the regathering 
of the elect race, Israel; the judgment of the Gentile 
nations ; and the setting up of the kingdom predicted 
and described by the Old Testament prophets. The 
present church age, which fills a parenthesis or gap in 



' And the Redeemer shall come 
to Zion, and unto them that turn 
from transgression in Jacob, 
saith the Lord. 

As for me, this is my cove- 
nant with them, saith the Lord ; 
My spirit that is upon thee, and 
my words which I have put in 
thy mouth, shall not depart out 
of thy mouth, nor out of the 
mouth of thy seed, nor out of 
the mouth of thy seed's seed, 
saith the Lord, from henceforth 
and for ever. — Isa. 59 • ^o, 2i. 

*For there shall be a day, that 
the watchmen upon the mount 
Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and 
let us go up to Zion unto the 
Lord our God. 

For thus saith the Lord ; Sing 
with gladness for Jacob, and 
shout among the chief of the 
nations: publish ye, praise ye. 
and say, O Lord, save thy peo- 
ple, the remnant of Israel. 

Behold, I will bring them from 
the north country, and gather 
them from the coasts of the 
earth, and with them the blind 
and the lame, the woman with 



child and her that travaileth 
with child together: a great 
company shall return thither. 

They shall come with weep- 
ing, and with supplications will 
I lead them : I will cause them 
to walk by the rivers of waters 
in a straight way, wherein they 
shall not stumble : for I am a 
father to Israel, and Ephraim is 
my firstborn. 

Hear the word of the Lord, 
O ye nations, and declare it in 
the isles afar off, and say. He 
that scattered Israel will gather 
him, and keep him, as a shep- 
herd doth his flock. 

For the Lord hath redeemed 
Jacob, and ransomed him from 
the hand of him that was 
stronger than he. 

Therefore they shall come and 
sing in the height of Zion, and 
shall flow together to the good- 
ness of the Lord, for wheat, 
and for wine, and for oil, and 
for the young of the flock and 
of the herd : and their soul shall 
be as a watered garden ; and 
they shall not sorrow any more 
at all. — Jer. 31:6-12. 



THE MESSIAH 



39 



the Old Testament predicted order of events, was veiled 
from the Old Testament prophets (Eph. 3: 1-11).^ 

It is the Messianic Message which transcends all others 
in importance, not only because all salvation was to be 
wrought out by Christ, but also because all the other 
predicted events have to do with His advents and His 
authority. It is Christ who regathers Israel ; Christ who, 
by His personal manifestation, converts Israel (Hosea 
2: 14-17)^; Christ who destroys Israel's enemies at Arma- 
geddon (Rev. 19: 11 et seq.)'^; Christ who reigns over 
the earth during the kingdom age (Isa. 9:6, 7; Luke 
1 : 33)^; David's Son, Son of God, Son of man, Son of 
Abraham. 



^ For this cause I Paul, the 
prisoner of Jesus Christ for you 
Gentiles, 

If ye have heard of the dis- 
pensation of the grace of God 
which is given me to you-ward : 

How that by revelation he 
made known unto me the mys- 
tery ; (as I wrote afore in few 
words, 

Whereby, when ye read, ye 
may understand my knowledge 
in the mystery of Christ) 

Which in other ages was not 
made known unto the sons of 
men, as it is now revealed unto 
his holy apostles and prophets 
by the Spirit ; 

That the Gentiles should be 
fellowheirs, and of the same 
body, and partakers of his prom- 
ise in Christ by the gospel : 

Whereof I was made a minis- 
ter, according to the gift of the 
grace of God given unto me by 
the effectual working of his 
power. 

Unto me, who am less than 
the least of all saints, is this 
grace given, that I should preach 
among the Gentiles the un- 
searchable riches of Christ ; 

And to make all men see what 
is the fellowship of the mystery, 
which from the beginning of the 
world hath been hid in God, 
who created all things by Jesus 
Christ : 



To the intent that now unto 
the principalities and powers in 
heavenly places might be known 
by the church the manifold wis- 
dom of God, 

According to the eternal pur- 
pose which he purposed in Christ 
Jesus our Lord. — Eph. 3 : i-ii. 

* Therefore, behold, I will al- 
lure her, and bring her into the 
wilderness, and speak comfort- 
ably unto her. 

And I will give her her vine- 
yards^ from thence, and the val- 
ley of Achor for a door of hope : 
and she shall sing there, as in 
the days of her youth, and as in 
the day when she came up out 
of the land of Egypt. 

And it shall be at that day, 
saith the Lord, that thou shalt 
call me Ishi ; and shalt call me 
no more Baali. 

For I will take away the 
names of Baalim out of her 
mouth, and they shall no more 
be remembered by their name. — 
Hosea 2 : 14-17. 

'^ And I saw heaven opened, 
and behold a white horse ; and 
he that sat upon him was called 
Faithful and True, and in right- 
eousness he doth judge and make 
war. — Rev. ig : 11. 

® For unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given : and the 
government shall be upon his 
shoulder : and his name shall be 



40 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVf 

The prophetical books are arranged in our Bibles in 
the order of the fulness of the treatment of the pro- 
phetic themes, and not in their chronological order. This 
has given rise to the division into major, or greater, 
and minor, or lesser prophets ; a division based upon the 
bulk or volume of the writings. The better division is 
that based upon the captivities of Israel, and is into 
prophets before the exile, prophets during the exile, and 
prophets to the restored remnant (Haggai, Zechariah, 
Malachi). Taking the prophets in this order the develop- 
ment of the Messianic revelation is progressive and har- 
monious. It should be remembered that Messianic proph- 
ecy did not begin with the Hebrew writing-prophets. 
They but added detail to a body of revelation concerning 
a coming One which, in type and testimony, had been 
growing from the very creation of Adam — nay, from 
the material creation, for the sun itself is a type of Him. 
And, to use a figure, the prophets but added to and comr 
pleted a portrait of the coming Messiah the first lines 
of which, and many an added touch, had been already 
put upon the canvas. 

The Sun of righteousness (Mai. 4:2)^; the second 
Man (1 Cor. 15 : 47) ^^ the last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45)^1; 
the Seed of the woman (Gen. 3: 15; Gal. 4:4)^^; the 

called Wonderful, Counsellor, and grow up as calves of the 

The mighty God, The everlasting stall. — Mai. 4 : 2. 

Father, The Prince of Peace. ^® The first man is of the earth, 

Of the increase of his gov- earthy : the second man is the 

ernment and peace there shall be Lord from heaven. — / Cor. 15 : 

no end, upon the throne of 47- 

Da\id, and upon his kingdom. "And so it is written. The 

to order it, and to establish it ^rst man Adam was made a liv- 

with judgment and with justice ing soul ; the last Adam was 

from henceforth even for ever. ^«^^ ^ quickening spirit.— I 

The zeal of the Lord of hosts ^^u/^'i^' -u . > k. 

• n r ^u- r ^ x *• "And I Will put enmity be- 

will perform this.-/.a. 9: 6 7- ,^^^^ ^^ee and the woman, and 

And he shall reign over the ^^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^. 

houseof Jacob for ever; and of .^ ^j^^jj ^^^-^^ thy head, and 

his kingdom there shall be no ^j^^^ ^j^^^ ^^^-^^ his heel—Gen. 

end. — Luke i : 33. ^ . j. 

•But unto you that fear my '3^^ ^^en the fulness of the 

name shall the Sun of righteous- time was come, God sent forth 

ness arise with healing in his his Son, made of a woman, made 

wings; and ye shall go forth, under the law. — Gal. 4:4. 



THE MESSIAH 41 

lamb of Abel (Gen. 4:4)^^; the Son of Abraham (Gen. 
12 : 3)^^ ; the Priest after the order of Melchizedek (Gen. 
14: 18; Heb. 7: 11 and preceding) ^^; the Ladder of Ja- 
cob (Gen. 28:12, 13; John 1:51)^^ the Dehverer hke 
Moses (Acts 7 : 35)^' ; the Prophet Hke unto Moses (Acts 
7:?>7y^\ the victorious Captain Hke Joshua; the Priest 
after the manner of Aaron, but after the order of Mel- 
chizedek; the Mercy seat, shewbread, candlestick, golden 
altar of incense, and every other object in the tabernacle; 
Son of Abraham — so, and in like manner, had the Types 
been telling the story of Messiah. And Baalam had seen 
the Star out of Jacob; and Jacob had seen Shiloh; and 
David had seen his great Son ; and Job had declared his 
faith that his Redeemer would stand at the latter day 
upon the earth. This, and much more, had been painted 
into the Portrait before the writing prophets took up 
the brush. 

But in the Prophets whatever was vague in the inti- 
mations down the ages concerning a coming One becomes 
definite. Sharpness of outline is a prophetic character- 
istic. Messiah is to be of the stock of David (Isa. 7 : 13 ; 

"And Abel, he also brought And, behold, the Lord stood 

of the firstlings of his flock and above it, and said, I am the 

of the fat thereof. And the Lord God of Abraham thy 

Lord had respect unto Abel and father, and the God of Isaac ; 

to his offering.— (7^n. 4:4- the land whereon thou liest, to 

^*And I will bless them that thee will I give it, and to thy 

bless thee, and curse him that seed. Gen. 28 : 12, 13. 

curseth thee: and in thee shall a ' -, , ^ '^:^i, „^A i,-^ \T^^iUr 

u *.u f ^'^' r, r.f 4-1, ^^^^v, u^ And he saitn unto nim. Verily, 

U.^.!^^^ t' ^^^^' '^ verily, I say unto you. Hereafter 

-And Melchizedek king of ^f shall see heaven open and 

Salem brought forth bread and '^^ angels of God ascenaing and 

wine; and he ^d'as the priest of descending upon the Son of 

the most high God,-Gen. 14 : 18. '^^^'-^.""^Z '^^'' 

If therefore perfection were "This Moses whom they re- 

by the Levitical priesthood, (for fused, saying, Who made thee a 

under it the people received the ruler and a judge? the same did 

law,) what further need was God send to he a ruler and a de- 

there that another priest should hverer by the hand of the angel 

rise after the order of Melchise- which appeared to him in the 

dec, and not be called after the hush.—Acts 7 '- ^5- 

order of Aaron. — Heh. 7:11. ^^ This is that Moses, which 

^® And he dreamed, and behold said unto the children of Israel, 

a ladder set up on the earth, and A prophet shall the Lord your 

the top of it reached to heaven : God raise up unto you of your 

and behold the angels of God brethren, like unto me ; him 

ascending and descending on it. shall ye hear. — Acts 7: 37. 



42 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYr 



9:7; Jer. 23:5, 6; 33: 15-17; Matt. 1:1; Luke l:32)i^ 
He is to be born in the city of David, Bethlehem (Mic. 
5:2),-^ of a virgin mother (Isa. 7: 13, 14; Luke 1:34, 
35).^^ And yet His name is called Wonderful, Counsel- 
lor, The mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince 
of Peace (Isa. 9:6). Still more wonderful, the One of 
this mighty Name is to be He who will sit ''Upon the 
throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and 
to establish it with judgment and with justice from hence- 
forth even for ever" (Isa. 9:7). 

These details in the portrait of the Christ, added by 
the prophets, exclude all possibility of imposture. It is 



^^ And he said, Hear ye now, 
O house of David ; Is it a small 
thing for you to weary men, but 
will ye weary my God also ? — 
Isa. 7 ■ 13- 

Of the increase of his govern- 
ment and peace there shall he 
no end, upon the throne of 
David, and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish it 
with judgment and with justice 
from henceforth even for ever. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts 
will perform this. — Isa. 9 .' 7. 

Behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that I will raise unto 
David a righteous Branch, and 
a King shall reign and prosper, 
and shall execute judgment and 
justice in the earth. 

In his days Judah shall be 
saved, and Israel shall dwell 
safely : and this is his name 
whereby he shall be called, THE 
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS.— y^r. 23: 5.6. 

In those days, and at that 
time, will I cause the Branch of 
righteousness to grow up unto 
David ; and he shall execute 
judgment and righteousness in 
the land. 

In those days shall Judah be 
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell 
safely : and this is the name 
wherewith she shall be called. 
The Lord our righteousness. 

For thus saith the Lord ; 
David shall never want a man to 



sit upon the throne of the house 
of Israel. — Jer. 33: 1 5-17- 

The book of the generation 
of Jesus Christ, the son of 
David, the son of Abraham. — 
Matt. I : I. 

He shall be great, and shall 
be called the son of the High- 
est : and the Lord God shall give 
unto him the throne of his father 
David. — Luke i : 32. 

''But thou, Beth-lehem Eph- 
ratah, though thou be little 
among the thousands of Judah, 
yet out of thee shall he come 
forth unto me that is to be 
ruler in Israel ; whose goings 
forth have been from of old, 
from everlasting. — Micah 5 ; 2. 

*^ And he said. Hear ye now, 

house of David ; Is it a small 
thing for you to weary men, but 
will ye weary my God also ? 

Therefore the Lord himself 
shall give you a sign; Behold, 
a virgin shall conceive, and bear 
a son, and shall call his name 
Immanuel. — Isa. 7 : 13, 14. 

Then said Mary unto the 
angel, How shall this be, seeing 

1 know not a man ? 

And the angel answered and 
said unto her. The Holy Ghost 
shall come upon thee, and the 
power of the Highest shall over- 
shadow thee : therefore also that 
holy thing which shall be born 
of thee shall be called the Son 
of God. — Luke i : 34, 35- 



THE MESSIAH 



43 



open toi any man to say, "I am the Christ," but it is not 
possible for any man to arrange before his birth that he 
shall be born in Bethlehem in Judea, of a virgin mother, 
of the stock of King David. And it is noteworthy that 
the Pharisees and rulers of the Jews, hating Christ with 
all the rancor of rehgious prejudice, and accusing Him 
falsely of many things, never once questioned that any 
one of the prophetic details was wanting to the fulfil- 
ment by Him of these great predictions — except at the 
first, when they still supposed Jesus to be a Galilean. 

Two kinds of experience awaited the Messiah upon 
earth, suflfering and glory (Luke 24: 25-27). ^^ Both of 
these aspects of His manifestation the prophets saw and 
foretold. But the way in which these experiences would 
be related to each other they did not see, for the New 
Testament church was not in the vision of the Old Testa- 
ment prophet (Eph. 3: 1-10).^^ That the prophets were 
exercised by the seeming utter contradiction of the two 
revelations concerning Messiah we are assured by an 
inspired apostle (1 Pet. 1:19, 11).^^ For how could 



^ Then he said unto them, O 
fools, and slow of heart to be- 
lieve all that the prophets have 
spoken : 

Ought not Christ to have suf- 
fered these things, and to enter 
into his glory ? 

And beginning at Moses and 
all the prophets, he expounded 
unto them in all the scriptures 
the things concerning himself. 
— Luke 24 : 25-27. 

^' For this cause I Paul, the 
prisoner of Jesus Christ for you 
Gentiles, 

If ye have heard of the dis- 
pensation of the grace of God 
which is given me to you- ward : 

How that by revelation he 
made known unto me the mys- 
tery ; (as I wrote afore in few 
words. 

Whereby, when ye read, ye 
may understand my knowledge 
in the mystery of Christ) 

Which in other ages was not 
made known unto the sons of 
men, as it is now revealed unto 



his holy apostles and prophets 
by the Spirit ; 

That the Gentiles should be 
fellowheirs, and of the same 
body, and partakers of his prom- 
ise in Christ by the gospel : 

Whereof I was made a minis- 
ter, according to the gift of the 
grace of God given unto me by 
the effectual working of his 
power. 

Unto me, who am less than 
the least of all saints, is this 
grace given, that I should preach 
among the Gentiles the un- 
searchable riches of Christ ; 

And to make all men see what 
is the fellowship of the mys- 
tery, which from the beginning 
of the world hath been hid in 
God, who created all things by 
Jesus Christ : 

To the intent that now unto 
the principalities and powers in 
heavenly places might be known 
by the church the manifold wis- 
dom of God. — Eph. 3 : i-io. 

** But with the precious blood 
of Christ, as of a lamb without 



44 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVf 

the Christ be a man of sorrows and acquainted with 
f^rief, despised and rejected of men, and also a king, 
reigning as the heir to the throne of David in the fulness 
of His divine power and glory? How could Isaiah 53 
be reconciled with Isaiah 11 and 66? And tliis most 
natural perplexity of the prophets was quieted, not an- 
swered. It was revealed to them that the things to which 
they bore witness were for a distant fulfilment. ''Unto 
w^hom it was revealed, that not unto themselves but unto 
us did they minister." 

This apparent contradiction, completely reconciled as 
the two advents come into view, — the advent to suffer, 
and the advent to rule, — illustrates the fact that very 
much of the Higher Criticism is due to ignorance of 
prophecy. An instance in point is the hypothesis of two 
Isaiahs, — that is, the higher critical theory that the book 
of Isaiah as we now have it must have been written by 
two different men, one before the captivity, the other 
seventy years later. As every student of prophecy knows, 
the first 39 chapters of Isaiah have to do with the sins 
of Israel and the impending captivities. Beginning with 
chapter 40 the prophet's vision sweeps on to the day of 
Israel's restoration from a world-wide dispersion, con- 
version, and establishment in Palestine, never again to 
be moved. It is Isaiah's vision of the kingdom. What 
wonder that his style rises from sternness to triumph? 
Washington's messages to Congress, while President of 
a free nation, dififer in style from his letter to Congress 
from Valley Forge ; but no one but a higher critic would 
infer two Washingtons. 

Not until Messiah had appeared and had been rejected 
by the Jews was any adequate explanation given of the 
paradox in which the prophetic testimony was left, that 
David's mighty Heir should also be the man on the cross 
of the Twenty-second Psalm, the iniquity-bearer of Isaiah 
Fifty-three. That explanation came from the lips of 

blemish and without spot. — i when it testified beforehand the 

Pet. 1 : 19. sufferings of Christ, and the 

Searching what, or what man- glory that should follow. — J Pet. 

ner of time the Spirit of Christ i : ii. 
v/hich was in them did signify. 



THE MESSIAH 45 

the Messiah himself. In the parables recorded in Mat- 
thew 13 there is the foreview of an age intervening be- 
tween the sufferings and the glory — the long period of 
time in which we live. During this age are to be accom- 
plished certain ''mysteries'' of the kingdom which had 
not been revealed to the Old Testament prophets (Matt. 
\2>\ 17).'^^ These accomplished, the Old Testament pre- 
dictions are again to be taken up, and Messiah revealed 
in His glory in the kingdom age which follows the ''Mys- 
teries.'' These things will appear clearly when we come 
to the greater messages of the New Testament prophets. 

The prophetic testimony to the humiliation and suffer- 
ing of Messiah is especially voiced through David and 
Isaiah. The Twenty-second Psalm is a vivid picture of 
death by crucifixion. The bones out of joint (v. 14),^® 
the profuse perspiration caused by intense suffering (v. 
14), ^"^ strength exhausted and intense thirst (v. 15),^^ 
the hands and feet pierced (v. 16),^^ are all incidental 
to death by crucifixion. The desolate cry, *'My God, my 
God, why hast thou forsaken me?" uttered by our Lord 
from the cross is taken from this Psalm. If there were 
no other proof of prophetic inspiration this Psalm alone 
would be conclusive. 

Another prediction of the sufferings of Messiah is the 
familiar Fifty-third of Isaiah. Like the Twenty-second 
Psalm this great vision also closes with the note of tri- 
umph and victory. This v^rilling Sufferer shall see of 
the birth-pangs of His soul and shall be satisfied (v. 11)^^; 
just as in the Psalm of crucifixion the cry from the very 

2° For verily I say unto you, a potsherd; and my tongue 

That many prophets and right- cleaveth to my jaws ; and thou 

eous men have desired to see hast^brought me into the dust of 

those things which ye see, and deatn.— P.'a/m 22:15. 

have not seen them; and to hear ''For dogs have compassed 

those things which ye hear, and P^^ '' ^¥ assembly of the wicked 

have not heard them.-Matt. rs: ^^LVl^,!^- ' tHhTat^ 



IT- 

26 27 



22 : 16. 



I am poured out like water, 'so tt i. 1^ r ^t, 4...^ „:i 

^*.A ^11 ^, u 4. £ ^ He shall see of the travail 

and all my bones are out of ^^ ^-^ ^^^^j ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^3. 

joint : my heart is like wax ; it fi^j . b,. j^is knowledge shall my 

IS melted m the midst of my righteous servant justify many; 

bowels.— Psalm 22:14. for he shall bear their iniquities. 

*® My strength is dried up like — Isa. 33: 11. 



46 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

mouth of the lion is, "I will declare thy name unto my 
brethren : in the midst of the congregation will I praise 
thee'' (v. 22), and triumph is in the declaration, *'For 
the kingdom is the Lord's : and he is the governor among 
the nations" (v. 28). 

There is, it may be added, a clear prophetic testimony 
to the meaning of the sufferings of Messiah. "He was 
wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our 
iniquities." Nor do the prophets leave room for modern 
dilutions of the doctrine. If it be urged, as it sometimes 
is, that the true meaning is : 'Tie suffered on account of 
our transgressions," the answer of the prophet is, "The 
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." And the 
prophetic testimony is at one with the apostolic. "Who 
his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, 
that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteous- 
ness, by whose stripes ye were healed" (1 Pet. 2: 24). 

By far the larger part of the prophetic testimony to 
the coming One has to do with His manifestation in glory 
on the earth during the kingdom age. His heavenly glory 
from before the foundation of the earth (John 17:5)^^ 
is not the theme of the prophets, though His deity is 
fully recognized (for example, Isa. 9: 6, 7).^^ His glory 
is that of the incarnate God, reigning in full manifesta- 
tion of His divine glory over the kingdom covenanted to 
David (Isa. 9:6, 7; 11:1-12; Jer. 23:5, 6; 33:14-17; 
Amos 9:11; Micah 5:2; Zech. 14:9) .^^ 

^^ And now. O Father, glorify from henceforth even for ever. 

thou me with thine own self with The zeal of the Lord of hosts 

the glory which I had with thee will perform this. — Isa. g : 6, 7. 

before the world was. — John 17 1 ^^And there shall come forth 

5. a rod out of the stem of Jesse, 

32^ as Pqj. yyxi\.o us a child is and a Branch shall grow out of 

born, unto us a son is given : his roots ; 

and the government shall be And the spirit of the Lord 

upon his shoulder : and his shall rest upon him, the spirit of 

name shall be called Wonderful, wisdom and understanding, the 

Counsellor, The mighty God, The spirit of counsel and might, the 

everlasting Father, The Prince spirit of knowledge and of the 

of Peace. fear of the Lord ; 

Of the increase of his govern- And shall make him of quick 

ment and peace there shall he understanding in the fear of the 

no end, upon the throne of Lord : and he shall not judge 

David, and upon his kingdom, after the sight of his eyes, 

to order it, and to establish it neither reprove after the hear- 

with judgment and with justice ing of his ears: 



THE MESSIAH 



47 



To Zechariah is given the revelation of both advents 
of Messiah, His advent to suffer and His advent to reign. 

''Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daugh- 
ter of Jerusalem : behold thy King cometh unto thee : he 
is just, and having salvation ; lowly, and riding upon an 



But with righteousness shall 
he judge the poor, and reprove 
with equity for the meek of the 
earth : and he shall smite the 
earth with the rod of his mouth, 
and with the breath of his lips 
shall he slay the wicked. 

And righteousness shall be the 
girdle of his loins, and faithful- 
ness the girdle of his reins. 

The wolf also shall dwell with 
the lamb, and the leopard shall 
lie down with the kid ; and the 
calf and the young lion and the 
fatling together; and a little 
child shall lead them. 

And the cow and the bear 
shall feed; their young ones 
shall lie down together : and the 
lion shall eat straw like the ox. 

And the sucking child shall 
play on the hole of the asp, and 
the weaned child shall put his 
hand on the cockatrice' den. 

They shall not hurt nor de- 
stroy in all my holy mountain : 
for the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord, as the 
waters cover the sea. 

And in that day there shall 
be a root of Jesse, which shall 
stand for an ensign of the peo- 
ple ; to it shall the Gentiles seek : 
and his rest shall be glorious. 

And it shall come to pass in 
that day, that the Lord shall set 
his hand again the second time 
to recover the remnant of his 
people, which shall be left, from 
Assyria, and from Egypt, and 
from Pathros, and from Cush, 
and from Elam, and from 
Shinar, and from Hamath, and 
from the islands of the sea. 

And he shall set up an ensign 
for the nations, and shall assem- 
ble the outcasts of Israel, and 
gather together the dispersed of 
Judah from the four corners of 
the earth. — Isa. 11:1-12. 



Behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that I will raise unto 
David a righteous Branch, and 
a King shall reign and prosper, 
and shall execute judgment and 
justice in the earth. 

In his days Judah shall be 
saved, and Israel shall dwell 
safely : and this is his name 
whereby he shall be called, THE 
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS.— /er. 23: 5,6. 

Behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that I will perform 
that good thing which I have 
promised unto the house of 
Israel and to the house of JudaH, 

In those days, and at that 
time, will I cause the Branch of 
righteousness to grow up unto 
David ; and he shall execute 
judgment and righteousness in 
the land. 

In those days shall Judah be 
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell 
safely : and this is the name 
wherewith she shall be called, 
The Lord our righteousness. 

For thus saith the Lord : 
David shall never want a man to 
sit upon the throne of the house 
of Israel. — Jer. 33 : 14-17. 

In that day will I raise up 
the tabernacle of David that is 
fallen, and close up the breaches 
thereof: and I will raise up his 
ruins, and I will build it as in 
the days of old. — Amos 9 ; //. 

But thou, Beth-lehem Eph- 
ratah, though thou be little 
among the thousands of Judah, 
yet out of thee shall he come 
forth unto me that is to be ruler 
in Israel ; whose goings forth 
have been from of old, from 
everlasting. — Micah 5 .' 2. 

And the Lord shall be king 
over all the earth : in that day 
shall there be one Lord, and his 
name one. — Zech. 14 : 9. 



48 IVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass" (Zech. 9:9). It 
is impossible to ''spiritualize" away the literal meaning 
of this prophecy, because it was fulfilled with absolute 
literalness at the first advent (Matt. 21 : 1-11 ; with par- 
allel accounts in Mark 11 : 1-10; Luke 19: 29-38).^^ 

But hbw marked the contrast in Zechariah's vision of 
the second advent. It introduces the "great and dreadful 
day of the Lord" (Mai. 4:5), and every detail speaks, 
not of meekness and lowliness, but of resistless power. 

**And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount 
of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the 
mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward 
the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very 
great valley ; and half of the mountain shall remove 
toward the north, and half of it toward the south, . . . 
and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with 
thee. . . . And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: 
in that day shall there be one Lord. . . . And it shall 
come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations 
which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from 
vear to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts" 
(Zech. 14:4, 5,9, 16). 

Aniios also testifies to the exaltation of Messiah at his 
second advent : 

^ And when they drew nigh And the disciples went, and 

unto Jerusalem, and were come did as Jesus commanded them, 

to Bethphage, unto the mount And brought the ass, and the 

of Olives, then sent Jesus two ^P^^ and put on them their 

disciples, clothes, and they set hiin 

Saying unto them. Go into '^^^^^'^ , multitude ' 

the village over against you, and ^p^.^^^ ^^eir garments in the 

straightway ye shall find an ass ^ay ; others cut down branches 

tied, and a colt with her: loose from the trees, and strawed 

them, and bring them unto me. them in the way 

And if any man say aught And the multitudes that went 

unto you ye shall say, The Lord before, and that followed, cried, 

hath need of them; and straignt- saying, Hosanna to the son of 

'''^J'l,^''^ u^'^^ ^^"^ l^^'"^' , . ^avid : Blessed is he that com- 

All this was done, that it eth in the name of the Lord; 

might be fulfilled which was Hosanna in the highest, 

spoken by the prophet, saying. And when he was come into 

Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Jerusalem, all the city was 

Behold, thy King cometh unto moved, saying. Who is this ? 

thee, meek, and sitting upon an And the multitude said. This 

ass, and a colt the foal of an is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth 

^^s- of Galilee. — Matt. 21: i-ii. 



THE MESSIAH 



49 



"In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David 
that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof ; and I 
will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days 
of old" (Amos 9: 11). And here, as in the prophecy of 
Zechariah, there is no possibility of giving the words a 
figurative interpretation, for the passage is quoted in 
the New Testament and appHed to the return of the 
Lord (Acts 15:13-18).-'^^^ 

The Messianic Message of the Prophets — surely their 
greatest message — may be thus summarized : They fore- 
saw and foretold a coming One who should be both Son 
of God and Son of David (Isa. 7:13, 14: 9:6, 7).^^ 
At His first advent, born in the city of David, Bethlehem ; 
coming to Israel "meek and lowly''; rejected by the rulers 
of His nation ; He fulfils the Abrahamic covenant of re- 
demption (Gen. 12:3; Gal. 3:16)^^ by enduring the 
cross, being wounded for our transgressions, a vicarious 
sacrifice for us. 



'^And after they had held 
their peace, James answered, 
saying, Men and brethren, 
hearken unto me : 

Simeon hath declared how 
God at the first did visit the 
Gentiles, to take out of them a 
people for his name. 

And to this agree the words 
of the prophets ; as it is written, 

After this I will return, and 
will build again the tabernacle 
of David, which is fallen down ; 
and I will build again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up: 

That the residue of men 
might seek after the Lord, and 
all the Gentiles, upon whom my 
name is called, saith the Lord, 
who doeth all these things. 

Known unto God are all his 
works from the beginning of the 
world. — Acts 15:13-18. 

'' And he said, Hear ye now, 
O house of David ; 7^ it a small 
thing for you to weary men, 
but will ye weary my God also ? 

Therefore the Lord himself 
shall give you a sign; Behold, 



a virgin shall conceive, and bear 
a son, and shall call his name 
Immanuel — Isa. 7 : 13, 14. 

For unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given : and the 
government shall be upon his 
shoulder : and his name shall be 
called Wonderful, Counsellor, 
The mighty God, The everlast- 
ing Father, The Prince of Peace. 

Of the increase of his govern- 
ment and peace there shall be 
no end, upon the throne of 
David, and upon his kingdom ; 
to order it, and to establish^ it 
with judgment and with justice 
from henceforth even for ever. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts 
will perform this. — Isa. g : 6, 7. 

''' And I w411 bless them that 
bless thee, and curse him that 
curseth thee : and in thee shall 
all families of the earth be 
blessed. — Gen. 12: 3. 

Now to Abraham and his seed 
were the promiises made. He 
saith not, And to seeds, as of 
many ; but as of one, And to thy 
seed, which is Christ. — Gal. $: 
16. 



so 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



At His second advent, appearing in divine glory (Zech. 
14:4; Matt. 24 : 27, 30) ,^^ He regathers and converts dis- 
persed Israel (Ezek. 20:35-44),^^ and, upon the throne 
of David, with Jerusalem as the capital, reigns over the 



^ And his feet shall stand in 
that day upon the mount of 
Olives, which is before Jeru- 
salem on the east, and the mount 
of Olives shall cleave in the 
midst thereof toward the east 
and toward the west, and there 
shall be a very great valley ; 
and half of the mountain shall 
remove toward the north, and 
half of it toward the south. — 
Zech. 14 : 4. 

For as the lightning cometh 
out of the east, and shineth even 
unto the west ; so shall also the 
coming of the Son of man be. 

And then shall appear the sign 
of the Son of man in heaven : 
and then shall all the tribes of 
the earth mourn, and they shall 
see the Son of man coming in 
the clouds of heaven with power 
and great glory. — Matt. 24 : 27, 
30. 

^® And I will bring you into 
the v/ilderness of the people, and 
there will I plead with you face 
to face. 

Like as I pleaded with your 
fathers in the wilderness of the 
land of Egypt, so will I plead 
with you, saith the Lord God. 

And I will cause you to pass 
under the rod, and I will bring 
you into the bond of the cove- 
nant : 

And I will purge out from 
among you the rebels, and them 
that transgress against me : I 
will bring them forth out of the 
country where they sojourn, and 
they shall not enter into the land 
of Israel : and ye shall know 
that I am the Lord. 



As for you, O house of Israel, 
thus saith the Lord God ; Go ye, 
serve ye every one his idols, and 
hereafter also, if ye will not 
hearken unto me : but pollute ye 
my holy name no more with 
your gifts, and with your idols. 

For in mine holy mountain, 
in the mountain of the height of 
Israel, saith the Lord God, there 
shall all the house of Israel, all 
of them in the land, serve me: 
there will I accept them, and 
there will I require your offer- 
ings, and the firstfruits of your 
oblations, with all your holy 
things. 

I will accept you with your 
sweet savour, when I bring you 
out from the people, and gather 
you out of the countries wherein 
ye have been scattered ; and I 
will be sanctified in you before 
the heathen. 

And ye shall know that I am 
the Lord, when I shall bring you 
into the land of Israel, into the 
countr>'' for the which I lifted 
up mine hand to give it to your 
fathers. 

And there shall ye remember 
your ways, and all your doings, 
wherein ye have been defiled ; 
and ye shall lothe yourselves in 
your own sight for all your evils 
that ye have committed. 

And ye shall know that I am 
the Lord, when I have wrought 
with you for my name's sake, 
not according to your wicked 
ways, nor according to your cor- 
rupt doings, O ye house of 
Israel, saith the Lord God. — 
Esek. 20: 35'44' 



THE MESSIAH 



51 



earth in the kingdom (Isa. 9:7; 11 : 1-12; 2:1-4; Matt. 

25:31).*° 



^^ Of the increase of his gov- 
ernment and peace there shall 
be no end, upon the throne of 
David, and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish it 
with judgment and with justice 
from henceforth even for ever. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts 
will perform this. — Isa. 9 ; 7. 

And there shall come forth a 
rod out of the stem of Jesse, 
and a Branch shall grow out of 
his roots : 

And the spirit of the ^ Lord 
shall rest upon him, the spirit of 
wisdom and understanding, the 
spirit of counsel and might, the 
spirit of knowledge and of the 
fear of the Lord. 

And shall make him of quick 
understanding in the fear of the 
Lord : and he shall not judge 
after the sight of his eyes, 
neither reprove after the hearing 
of his ears : 

But with righteousness shall 
he judge the poor, and reprove 
with equity for the meek of the 
earth : and he shall smite the 
earth with the rod of his mouth, 
and with the breath of his lips 
shall he slay the wicked. 

And righteousness shall be 
the girdle of his loins, and faith- 
fulness the girdle of his reins. 

The wolf also shall dwell with 
the lamb, and the leopard shall 
lie down with the kid ; and the 
calf and the young lion and the 
fatling together; and a little 
child shall lead them. 

And the cow and the bear 
shall feed ; their young ones 
shall lie down together : and the 
lion shall eat straw like the ox. 

And the sucking child shall 
play on the hole of the asp, and 
the weaned child shall put his 
hand on the cockatrice' den. 

They shall not hurt nor de- 
stroy in all my holy movmtain : 
for the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord, as the 
waters cover the sea. 



And in that day there shall 
be a root of Jesse, which shall 
stand for an ensign of the peo- 
ple ; to it shall the Gentiles seek: 
and his rest shall be glorious. 

And it shall come to pass in 
that day, that the Lord shall set 
his hand again the second time 
to recover the remnant of his 
people, which shall be left, from 
Assyria, and from Egypt, and 
from Pathros, and from Cush, 
and from Elam, and from 
Shinar, and from Hamath, and 
from the islands of the sea. 

And he shall set up an ensign 
for the nations, and shall assem- 
ble the outcasts of Israel, and 
gather together the dispersed of 
Judah from the four corners of 
the earth. — Isa. 11:1-12. 

The word that Isaiah the son 
of Amoz saw concerning Judah 
and Jerusalem. 

And it shall come to pass in 
the last days, that the mountain 
of the Lord's house shall be es- 
tablished in the top of the moun- 
tains, and shall be exalted above 
the hills ; and all nations shall 
flow unto it. 

And many people shall go and 
say, Come ye, and let us go up 
to the mountain of the Lord, to 
the house of the God of Jacob ; 
and he will teach us of his ways, 
and we will walk in his paths : 
for out of Zion shall go forth the 
law, and the word of the Lord 
from Jerusalem, 

And he shall judge among the 
nations, and shall rebuke many 
people : and they shall beat their 
swords into plowshares, and 
their spears into pruninghooks : 
nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they 
learn war any more. — Isa. 2: 
1-4. 

When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall 
he sit upon the throne of his 
glory.— Maf?. 25: si. 



52 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



The New Testament carries the foreview of the king- 
dom of Messiah to its glorious consummation in the 
restoration of humanity and the earth to the kingdom of 
God, even the Father ( 1 Cor. 15 : 24-28) ^^ The kingdom 
of the Son of David does not end, for it becomes one 
w^ith the universal rule of God. 



^* Then cometh the end, when 
he shall have delivered up the 
kingdom to God, even the 
Father ; when he shall have put 
down all rule and all authority 
and power. 

For he must reign, till he hath 
put all enemies under his feet. 

The last enemy that shall be 
destroyed is death. 

For he hath put all things 



under his feet. But when he 
saith, All things are put under 
him, it is manifest that he is ex- 
cepted, which did put all things 
under him. 

And when all things shall be 
subdued unto him, then shall 
the Son also himself be subject 
unto him that put all things 
under him, that God may be all 
in all. — / Cor. 13: 24-28. 



V. THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 

TWO forms of the Divine rule over the earth are to 
be distinguished in Scripture, the kingdom of 
heaven, and the kingdom of God. The first is 
Messiah's kingdom ; the kingdom of David's son 
(2 Sam. 7 : 10-17 ; Psa. 89 : 3, 4, 20-36 ; Matt. 1:1; Luke 
1 : 31-33 ; Acts 15 : 13-17). ^ Its sphere is the earth (Isa. 



^ Moreover I will appoint a 
place for my people Israel, and 
will plant them, that they may 
dwell in a place of their own, 
and move no more ; neither shall 
the children of wickedness af- 
flict them any more, as before- 
time, 

And as since the time that I 
commanded judges to he over 
my people Israel, and have 
caused thee to rest from all 
thine enemies. Also the Lord 
telleth thee that he will make 
thee an house. 

And when thy days be ful- 
filled, and thou shalt sleep with 
thy fathers, I will set up thy 
seed after thee, which shall pro- 
ceed out of thy bowels, and I 
will establish his kingdom. 

He shall build an house for 
my name, and I will stablish the 
throne of his kingdom for ever. 

I will be his father, and he 
shall be my son. If he commit 
iniquity, I will chasten him with 
the rod of men, and with the 
stripes of the children of men : 

But my mercy shall not de- 
part away from him, as I took 
it from Saul, whom I put away 
before thee. 

And thine house and thy king- 
dom shall be established for 
ever before thee : thy throne 
shall be established for ever. 

According to all these words, 



and according to all this vision, 
so did Nathan speak unto David. 
— 2 Sam. 7 : 10-17. 

I have made a covenant with 
my chosen, I have sworn unto 
David my servant. 

Thy seed w411 I establish for 
ever, and build up thy throne to 
all generations. Selah. — Psalm 

89 : S, 4- 

I have found David my serv- 
ant ; with m.y holy oil have I 
anointed him : 

With whom my hand shall 
be established : mine arm also 
shall strengthen him. 

The enemy shall not exact 
upon him ; nor the son of 
wickedness afflict him. 

And I will beat down his foes 
before his face, and plague them 
that hate him. 

But my faithfulness and my 
mercy shall be with him : and in 
my name shall his horn be ex- 
alted. 

I will set his hand also in the 
sea, and his right hand in the 
rivers. 

He shall cry unto me, Thou 
art my father, my God, and the 
rock of my salvation. 

Also I will make him my first 
born, higher than the kings of 
the earth. 

My mercy will I keep for him 
for evermore, and my covenant 
shall stand fast with him. 



S3 



54 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



11:9; Jer. 23 : 5-8 ; Matt. 6 : 10) .^ The kingdom of God is 
the great inclusive kingdom, and may be defined as the 
rule of God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) over the uni- 
verse, the sphere of nature, and especially over all moral 
intelligences, angelic or human. 



His seed also will I make to 
endure for ever, and his throne 
as the days of heaven. 

If his children forsake my 
law, and walk not in my judg- 
ments ; 

If they break my statutes, and 
keep not my commandments ; 

Then will I visit their trans- 
gression with the rod, and their 
iniquity with stripes. 

Nevertheless my lovingkind- 
ness will I not utterly take from 
him, nor suffer my faithfulness 
to fail. 

My covenant will I not break, 
nor alter the thing that is gone 
out of my lips. 

Once have I sworn by my 
holiness that I will not lie unto 
David. 

His seed shall endure for 
ever, and his throne as the sun 
before me. — Psalm 89 : 20-36. 

The book of the generation 
of Jesus Christ, the son of 
David, the son of Abraham. — 
Matt. I : I. 

And, behold, thou shalt con- 
ceive in thy womb, and bring 
forth a son, and shalt call his 
name JESUS. 

He shall be great, and shall 
be called the son of the High- 
est : and the Lord God shall 
give unto him the throne of his 
father David : 

And he shall reign over the 
house of Jacob for ever ; and of 
his kingdom there shall be no 
end. — Luke i : 31-33. 

And after they had held their 
peace, James answered, saying, 
Men and brethren, hearken unto 
me : 

Simeon hath declared how 
God at the first did visit the 
Gentiles, to take out of them a 
people for his name. 



And to this agree the words 
of the prophets ; as it is written. 

After this I will return, and 
will build again the tabernacle 
of David, which is fallen down ; 
and I will build again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up : 

That the residue of men might 
seek after the Lord, and all the 
Gentiles, upon whom my name 
is called, saith the Lord, who 
doeth all these things. — Acts 15 •' 
13-17- 

^ They shall not hurt nor de- 
stroy in all my holy mountain : 
for the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord, as the 
waters cover the sea. — Isa. u : 
9. 

Behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that I will raise vmto 
David a righteous Branch, and 
a King shall reign and prosper, 
and shall execute judgment and 
justice in the earth. 

In his days Judah shall be 
saved, and Israel shall dwell 
safely : and this is his name 
whereby he shall be called, THE 
LORD OUR RIGHTEOUS- 
NESS. 

Therefore, behold, the days 
come, saith the Lord, that they 
shall no more say. The Lord 
liveth, which brought up the 
children of Israel out of the 
land of Egypt ; 

But, The Lord liveth, which 
brought up and which led the 
seed of the house of Israel out 
of the north country, and from 
all countries whither I had 
driven them ; and they shall 
dwell in their own land. — Jer. 
23 : 5-8. 

Thy kingdom come. Thy will 
be done in earth, as it is in 
heaven. — Matt. 6:10. 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 



55 



The kingdom of God "comes not with outward show*' 
(Luke 17:20), but is chiefly that which is inward and 
spiritual (Rom. 14: 17)^; whereas the kingdom of heaven 
is organic, and is to be manifested in glory on the earth 
(Matt. 25 : 31 ; 19 : 28).^ Since the kingdom of heaven is 
the earthly sphere of the kingdom of God (Matt. 6: 10)^ 
the two have much in common, and hence many parables 
are spoken of the kingdom of heaven in Matthew, and 
of the kingdom of God in Mark and Luke. It is the 
omissions which are significant. In the kingdom of God 
there are neither tares (Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43)^ nor 



^ For the kingdom of God is 
not meat and drink ; but right- 
eousness, and peace, and joy in 
the Holy Ghost. — Rom. 14 : 17 - 

*When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall 
he sit upon the throne of his 
glory. — Matt. BS'- Si. 

And Jesus said unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, That ye 
which have followed me, in the 
regeneration when the Son of 
man shall sit in the throne of 
his glory, ye also shall sit upon 
twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel. — Matt. 
19 : 28. 

^ Thy kingdom come. Thy 
will be done in earth, as it is in 
heaven. — Matt. 6 : 10. 

® Another parable put he forth 
unto them, saying, The kingdom 
of heaven is likened unto a man 
which sowed good seed in his 
field: 

But while men slept, his enemy 
came and sowed tares among the 
wheat, and went his way. 

But when the blade was 
sprung up, and brought forth 
fruit, then appeared the tares 
also. 

So the servants of the house- 
holder came and said unto him. 
Sir, didst not thou sow good 
seed in thy field? from whence 
then hath it tares? 

He said unto them. An enemy 
hath done this. The servants 
said unto him. Wilt thou then 
that we go and gather them up? 



But he said, Nay ; lest while 
ye gather up the tares, ye root 
up also the wheat with them. 

Let both grow together until 
the harvest : and in the time of 
harvest I will say to the reapers, 
Gather ye together first the 
tares, and bind them in bundles 
to burn them : but gather the 
wheat into my barn. — Matt. 13; 
24-30. 

Then Jesus sent the multitude 
away, and went into the house : 
and his disciples came unto him, 
saying. Declare unto us the par- 
able of the tares of the field. 

He answered and said unto 
them. He that soweth the good 
seed is the Son of man; 

The field is the world ; the 
good seed are the children of 
the kingdom ; but the tares are 
the children of the wicked one ; 

The enemy that sowed them 
is the devil ; the harvest is the 
end of the world : and the reap- 
ers are the angels. 

As therefore the tares are 
gathered and burned in the fire ; 
so shall it be in the end of this 
world. 

The Son of man shall send 
forth his angels, and they shall 
gather out of his kingdom all 
things that offend, and them 
which do iniquity ; 

And shall cast them into a 
furnace of fire : there shall be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth. 

Then shall the righteous shine 
forth as the sun in the kingdom 
of their Father. Who hath ears 



56 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 

bad fish (Matt. 13:47-50)7 On the other hand the citi- 
zens of the kingdom of God are not perfected till they 
shall ''see him as he is" (1 John 3:2) and therefore 
the parable of the leaven is spoken of both kingdoms 
( Matt. 13 : 33 ; Luke 13 : 20, 21 ) .^ There can be neither 
tares nor bad fish in the kingdom of God, while both are 
in the kingdom of heaven in its present, or mystery, 
form. No other of the many confusions of things that 
dififer has wrought so disastrously in Biblical interpreta- 
tion as making of one meaning all passages in which the 
''kingdom of God," the "kingdom of heaven," and the 
"church" occur. 

We must remember also that "the kingdom of heaven" 
is used both of the millennial kingdom of the Messiah, 
to be ushered in by His personal coming and of the sphere 
of Christian profession as described in the parables of 
Matthew 13. 

And even in the millennial kingdom on earth, when 
Christ is reigning* with a rod of iron, not all men will be 
His willing subjects. There cannot in that age be any 
"unbelievers" on earth, for Christ will be manifested 
in glory, and unbelief therefore will be impossible. But 
there will be those who, hating God, sullenly obey Christ 
the King. Those referred to in Revelation 20: 7-9^ are 

to hear, let him hear. — Matt. 1$ -' And again he said, Where- 

3^-43- unto shall I liken the kingdom 

^ Again, the kingdom of heaven of God? 

is like unto a net that was cast j^ is like leaven, which a 

into the sea, and gathered of ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^-^ -^ ^^^^^ 

'Ivhich! when it was full, they ^^^^ures of meal, till the whole 

drew to shore, and sat down. was leavened.— Lti^^ 13:20,21. 

and gathered the good into ves- And ^yhen the thousand years 

sels, but cast the bad away. fre expired Satan shall be 

So shall it be at the end of loosed out of his prison, 

the world : the angels shall come And shall go out to deceive 

forth, and sever the wicked from the nations which are in the four 

among the just, quarters of the earth, Gog and 

And shall cast them into the Magog, to gather them together 

furnace of fire: there shall be to battle: the number of whom 

wailing and gnashing of teeth. — is as the sand of the sea. 

Matt. 13:47-50. And they went up on the 

® Another parable spake he breadth of the earth, and com- 

unto them ; The kingdom of passed the camp of the saints 

heaven is like unto leaven, which about, and the beloved city : and 

a woman took, and hid in three fire came down from God out of 

measures of meal, till the whole heaven, and devoured them. — 

was leavened. — Matt. 13:33. Rev. 20: 7-9. 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 57 

simply God-haters. They will yield an outward obedi- 
ence, for disobedience will then be instantly judged. 

Earth may be considered as a revolted province of the 
great kingdom of God, and the kingdom of heaven as 
the appointed means for the restoration of the divine 
authority in the earth. This purpose is thus definitely 
defined : 

'Then cometh the end, when he [Christ] shall have 
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father ; when 
he shall have put down all rule and all authority and 
power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies 
under his feet . . . and when all things shall be sub- 
dued unto him [Christ], then shall the Son also himself 
be subject unto him that put all things under him, that 
God may be all in all" (1 Cor. 15 : 24, 25, 28). 

That is the ultimate terminus toward which all king- 
dom truth moves. The dominion over the earthly crea- 
tion, lost by the ''first man Adam," is restored in and 
by the "last Adam." 

The great theme of the Old Testament prophets is the 
kingdom of Christ, the Son of David. Except the evan- 
gelic messages of Isaiah (Isa. 53),^^ and Zechariah 

^^ Who hath believed our re- All we like sheep have gone 

port ? and to whom is the arm astray ; we have turned every 

of the Lord revealed? one to his own way; and the 

For he shall grow up before Lord hath laid on him the 

him as a tender plant, and as a iniquity of us all. 

root out of a dry ground : he He was oppressed, and he was 

hath no form nor comeliness : afflicted, yet he opened not his 

and when we shall see him, mouth : he is brought as a lamb 

there is no beavity that we to the slaughter, and as a sheep 

should desire him. _ before her shearers is dumb, so 

He is despised and rejected he openeth not his mouth. 

of men ; a man of sorrows, and He was taken from prison and 

acquainted with grief : and we from judgment : and who shall 

hid as it were our faces from declare his generation ? for he 

him ; he was despised, and we was cut off out of the land of 

esteemed him not. the living : for the transgression 

Surely he hath borne our of my people was he stricken, 

griefs, and carried our sorrows : And he made his grave with 

yet^ we did esteem him stricken, the wicked, and with the rich in 

smitten of God, and afflicted. his death ; because he had done 

But he was wounded for our no violence, neither was any de- 
transgressions, he was bruised ceit in his mouth. 
for our iniquities : the chastise- Yet it pleased the Lord to 
ment of our peace was upon bruise him ; he hath put him to 
him ; and with his stripes we are grief ; when thou shalt make 
healed. his soul an offering for sin, he 



58 IVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 

(Zech. 3 : 8; 4:6; 12: 10; 13: 1),^^ the prophetic vision 
of Messiah is usually of a great King. The King and 
His earth kingdom fill the scene. The Messiah, though 
'Trnmanuel" — God with us, is also born of a virgin of 
the 'iiouse of David'' (Isa. 7: 13, 14). 

In Isaiah 9 : 6 and 7, a declaration concerning the 
Coining One is at once so explicit and so inclusive of 
His Deity, of His humanity through a natural birth, and 
of His kingship as to exclude any possible attempt to in- 
terpret it in a so-called ''spiritual'' or allegorical sense. 

'*For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: 
and the government shall be upon his shoulder : and his 
name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty 
God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of 
the increase of his government and peace there shall be 
no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with 
justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the 
Lord of hosts will perform this.'' 

The expression, 'Throne of David," is as severely 
historical and geographical as ''throne of the Caesars." 

This great passage may be taken as the norm of the 
Old Testament prophetic teaching concerning the king- 
shall see his seed, he shall pro- ant the BRANCH. — Zech. 3: 
long his days, and the pleasure S. 

of the Lord shall prosper in his Then he answered and spake 

hand ^■'"^^ ^^^^' saying, This is the 

He shall see of the travail of Jf^,^^ ^^ the Lord unto Zerub- 
his soul, and shall be satisfied: ^^^^^' ^^^P-^i ^ot by might, nor 
by his knowledge shall my right- ^y power, but by my spirit, saith 
eous servant jSstify many; for ^^^^ ^J^^^. oi hosts.— Zech. 4:6. 

he shall bear their iniquities. , ^^^ ] ^'^^-a^ '''''' a ''P°'' ^^ 

r^. r .„ J A- -A u- house of David, and upon the 

Therefore will I divide him inhabitants of Jerusalem, the 

a portion ^ith the great, and he i.^^ ^f ^^^ ^^ supplica- 

shall divide the spoil with the ^ions : and they shall look upon 

strong; because he hath poured „,^ ^^om they have pierced, and 

out his soul unto death : and he ^hey shall mourn for him, as 

was numbered wlth^ the trans- ^^^ mourneth for his only son, 

gressors, and he bare the sm of ^^^ g^all be in bitterness for 

many, and made intercession for j^i,^ ^3 ^^^ ^hat is in bitterness 

the transgressors.— /^a. 5 J. for his firstborn.— Z^r/t. 12: 10. 

/^Hear now, O Joshua the In that day there shall be a 

high priest, thou, and thy fellows fountain opened to the house 

that sit before thee: for they of David and to the inhabitants 

are men wondered at: for, be- of Jerusalem for sin and for 

hold, I will bring forth my serv- uncleanness. — Zech. 13: i. 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 59 

dom of Christ. The child is "born" ; the Son is ''^iven." 
W^hat exquisite accuracy ! There was a point in time 
when the child began to be ; the Son is eternal, and could 
be "given," but not "born." 

And the passage is also typical of all the prophetic 
teaching about Messiah and His kingdom in that, while 
asserting both the Deity and humanity of the King, it 
links His kingdom with earth, with Israel, and with the 
Davidic Covenant. What is added elsewhere is detail. 
But it is detail of such intense interest, and so essential 
to any comprehensive view of the kingdom of heaven, 
that it must be here summarized. 

The Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7: 16, 17, and preced- 
ing),^^ which is the foundation declaration of kingdom 
truth, is specific as to five things : David is to have a 
"house," that is, a posterity ; a "throne," the symbol of 
royal authority ; a "kingdom" or sphere of rule, and this 
in perpetuity; and all this with one condition : disobedi- 
ence in the Davidic family is to be visited with chastise- 
ment, but not by the annulment of the Covenant (Psa. 
89: 30-36).^^ The Eighty-ninth Psalm is the Divine con- 
firmation of the Davidic Covenant by the oath of Je- 
hovah. 

It is most interesting to see, and of vital moment to 
the right interpretation of the prophetic testimony, that 
the Davidic Covenant, as conditioning the kingdom fore- 
told by them, enters the New Testament unchanged. The 
angelic annunciation to Mary, the virgin of the house of 

^ And thine house and thy gression with the rod, and their 

kingdom shall be established for iniquity with stripes, 

ever before thee : thy throne Nevertheless my lovingkind- 

shall be established for ever. ness will I not utterly take from 

According to all these words, ^"^^ nor suffer my faithfulness 

and according to all this vision, ^^ J. ' .^ x 

so did Nathan speak unto David. My covenant will I not break, 

—2 Sam 7- i6 17 ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^°^^ 

13 rr I.-* t--ij ' £ 1 o^t of my lips. 

^li his children forsake my ^^^^ ^^^^ j ^^^^^ ^ ^^ 

law, and walk not m my judg- holiness that I will not lie unto 

ments ; 'Dd.Yid. 

If they break my statutes, and His seed shall endure for 

keep not my commandments ; ever, and his throne as the sun 

Then will I visit their trans- before me. — Psalm 89 : 30-36. 



60 



IV HAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



David, appointed to be mother of the ''Child" (Isa. 9: 
6),^^ is an explicit confirmation of that covenant. 

''And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and 
bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He 
shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest : 
and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his 
father David : and he shall reign over the house of Jacob 
for ever, and of his kingdom there shall be no end" 
(Luke 1:31-33). 

The eleventh chapter of Isaiah is one of the descrip- 
tive passages into which a kind of summary of all the 
prophetic kingdom testimony is gathered. It follows a 
description (Isa. 10:20-34)^^ of the events immediately 



^* For unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given : and the 
government shall be upon his 
shoulder : and his name shall be 
called Wonderful, Counsellor, 
The mighty God, The everlasting 
Father, The Prince of Peace. — 
Isa. 9 ; 6. 

^^ And it shall come to pass 
in that day, titaf the remnant of 
Israel, and such as are escaped 
of the house of Jacob, shall no 
more again stay upon him that 
smote them ; but shall stay upon 
the Lord, the Holy One of 
Israel, in truth. 

The remnant shall return, 
even the remnant of Jacob, unto 
the mighty God. 

For though thy people Israel 
be as the sand of the sea, yet a 
remnant of them shall return : 
the consumption decreed shall 
overflow with righteousness. 

For the Lord God of hosts 
shall make a consumption, even 
determined, in the midst of all 
the land. 

Therefore thus saith the Lord 
God of hosts, O my people that 
dwellest in Zion, be not afraid 
of the Assyrian : he shall smite 
thee with a rod, and shall lift 
up his staff against thee, after 
the manner of Egypt. 

For yet a very little while, 
and the indignation shall cease, 
and mine anger in their destruc- 
tion. 



And the Lord of hosts shall 
stir up a scourge for him accord- 
ing to the slaughter of Midian 
at the rock of Oreb : and as his 
rod zvas upon the sea, so shall 
he lift it up after the manner of 
Egypt. 

And it shall come to pass in 
that day, that his burden shall 
be taken away from off thy 
shoulder, and his yoke from off 
thy neck, and the yoke shall be 
destroyed because of the anoint- 
ing. 

He is come to Aiath, he is 
passed to Migron ; at Michmash 
he hath laid up his carriages ; 

They are gone over the pas- 
sage ; they have taken up their 
lodging at Geba ; Ramah is 
afraid ; Gibeah of Saul is fled. 

Lift up thy voice, O daughter 
of Gallim : cause it to be heard 
unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. 

Madmenah is removed ; the 
inhabitants of Gebim gather 
themselves to flee. 

As yet shall he remain at Nob 
that day : he shall shake his 
hand against the mount of the 
daughter of Zion, the hill of 
Jerusalem. 

Behold, the Lord, the Lord 
of hosts, shall lop the bough 
with terror : and the high ones 
of stature shall be hewn down, 
and the haughty shall be hum- 
bled. 

And he shall cut down the 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 



61 



preceding the coming in glory of the Branch of Jesse. 
Those events are more particularly described by Daniel 
in his seventh chapter,^^ and in Revelation 19: 11-21.^^ 



thickets of the forest with iron, 
and Lebanon shall fall by a 
mighty one. — Isa. 10:20-34. 

^^ In the first year of Belshaz- 
zar king of Babylon Daniel had 
a dream and visions of his head 
upon his bed : then he wrote the 
dream, and told the sum of the 
matters. 

Daniel spake and said, I saw 
in my vision by night, and, be- 
hold, the four winds of the 
heaven strode upon the great 
sea. 

And four great beasts came 
up from the sea, diverse one 
from another. 

The first was like a lion, and 
had eagle's wings : I beheld till 
the wings thereof were plucked, 
and it was lifted up from the 
earth, and made stand upon the 
feet as a man, and a man's heart 
was given to it. 

And behold another beast, a 
second, like to a bear, and it 
raised up itself on one side, and 
it had three ribs in the mouth 
of it between the teeth of it : 
and they said thus unto it. Arise, 
devour much flesh. 

After this I beheld, and lo 
another, like a leopard, which 
had upon the back of it four 
wings of a fov^^l ; the beast had 
also four heads ; and dominion 
was given to it. 

After this I saw in the night 
visions, and behold a fourth 
beast, dreadful and terrible, and 
strong exceedingly ; and it had 
great iron teeth : it devoured 
and brake in pieces, and stamped 
the residue with the feet of it : 
and it was diverse from all the 
beasts that were before it ; and 
it had ten horns. 

I considered the horns, and, 
behold, there came up among 
them another little horn, before 
whom there were three of the 
first horns plucked up by the 
roots : and, behold, in this horn 



were eyes like the eyes of man, 
and a mouth speaking great 
things. 

I beheld till the thrones were 
cast down, and the Ancient of 
days did sit, whose garment was 
white as snow, and the hair of 
his head like the pure wool : his 
throne was like the fiery flame, 
and his wheels as burning fire. 

A fiery stream issued and 
came forth from before him : 
thousand thousands ministered 
unto him, and ten thousand 
times ten thousand stood before 
him : the judgment was set, and 
the books were opened. 

I beheld then because of the 
voice of the great words which 
the horn spake : I beheld even 
till the beast was slain, and his 
body destroyed, and given to the 
burning flame. 

As concerning the rest of the 
beasts, they had their dominion 
taken away : yet their lives were 
prolonged for a season and time. 

I saw in the night visions, 
and, behold, one like the Son of 
man came with the clouds of 
heaven, and came to the Ancient 
of days, and they brought him 
near before him. 

And there was given him 
dominion, and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, nations, 
and languages, should serve him : 
his dominion is an everlasting 
dominion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that 
which shall not be destroyed. 

I Daniel was grieved in my 
spirit in the midst of my body, 
and the visions of my head trou- 
bled me. 

I came near unto one of them 
that stood by, and asked him 
the truth of all this. So he 
told me, and made me know the 
interpretation of the things. 

These great beasts, which are 
four, are four kings, which shall 
arise out of the earth. 



62 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



But the saints of the most 
High shall take the kingdom, 
and possess the kingdom for 
ever, even for ever and ever. 

Then I would know the truth 
of the fourth beast, which was 
diverse from all the others, ex- 
ceeding dreadful, whose teeth 
were of iron, and his nails of 
brass; ivhich devoured, brake in 
pieces, and stamped the residue 
with his feet ; 

And of the ten horns that 
zvere in his head, and of the 
other which came up, and before 
whom three fell ; even of that 
horn that had eyes, and a mouth 
that spake very great things, 
whose look was more stout than 
his fellows. 

I beheld, and the same horn 
made war with the saints, and 
prevailed against them ; 

Until the Ancient of days 
came, and judgment was given 
to the saints of the most High ; 
and the time came that the 
saints possessed the kingdom. 

Thus he said, The fourth beast 
shall be the fourth kingdom 
upon earth, which shall be di- 
verse from all kingdoms, and 
shall devour the whole earth, 
and shall tread it down, and 
break it in pieces. 

And the ten horns out of this 
kingdom are ten kings that shall 
arise : and another shall rise 
after them ; and he shall be di- 
verse from the first, and he shall 
subdue three kings. 

And he^ shall speak great 
words against the most High, 
and shall wear out the saints of 
the most High, and think to 
change times and laws : and 
they shall be given into his hand 
until a time and times and the 
dividing of time. 

But the judgment shall sit, 
and they shall take away his 
dominion, to consume and to de- 
stroy it unto the end. 

And the kingdom and domin- 
ion, and the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole 
heaven, shall be given to the 
people of the saints of the most 



High, whose kingdom is an ever- 
lasting kingdom, and all domin- 
ions shall serve and obey him. 

Hitherto is the end of the 
matter. As for me Daniel, my 
cogitations much troubled me, 
and my countenance changed in 
me : but I kept the matter in my 
heart. — Dan. 7. 

^' And I saw heaven opened, 
and behold a white horse ; and 
he that sat upon him was called 
Faithful and True, and in right- 
eousness he doth judge and 
make war. 

His eyes were as a flame of 
fire, and on his head were many 
crowns ; and he had a name 
written, that no man knew, but 
he himself. 

And he was clothed with a 
vesture dipped in blood : and his 
name is called The Word of 
God. 

And the armies which were 
in heaven followed him upon 
white horses, clothed in fine 
linen, white and clean. 

And out of his mouth goeth 
a sharp sword, that with it he 
should smite the nations : and he 
shall rule them with a rod of 
iron : and he treadeth the wine- 
press of the fierceness and 
wrath of Almighty God. 

And he hath on his vesture 
and on his thigh a' name writ- 
ten, KING OF KINGS, AND 
LORD OF LORDS. 

And I saw an angel standing 
in the sun ; and he cried with 
a loud voice, saying to all the 
fowls that fly in the midst of 
heaven, Come and gather your- 
selves together unto the supper 
of the great God ; 

That ye may eat the flesh of 
kings, and the flesh of captains, 
and the flesh of mighty men, 
and the flesh of horses, and of 
them that sit on them, and the 
flesh of all men, both free and 
bond, both small and great. 

And I saw the beast, and the 
kings of the earth, and their 
armies, gathered together to 
make war against him that sat 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 



63 



The Remnant of Israel turns to the Lord, the battle of 
Armageddon follows, and then the kingdom is set up. 

In the kingdom description of Isaiah 11/^ let it be 
noted that : 



on the horse, and against his 
army. 

And the beast was taken, and 
with him the false prophet that 
wrought miracles before him, 
with which he deceived them 
that had received the mark of 
the beast, and them that wor- 
shipped his image. These both 
were cast alive into a lake of 
fire burning with brimstone. 

And the remnant were slain 
with the sword of him that sat 
upon the horse, which sword 
proceeded out of his mxouth : and 
all the fowls were filled with 
their flesh. — Rev. ig: 11-21. 

'^ And there shall come forth a 
rod out of the stem of Jesse, 
and a Branch shall grow out of 
his roots : 

And the spirit of the ^ Lord 
shall rest upon him, the spirit of 
wisdom and understanding, the 
spirit of counsel and might, the 
spirit of knowledge and of the 
fear of the Lord ; 

And shall make him of quick 
understanding in the fear of the 
Lord : and he shall not judge 
after the sight of his eyes, 
neither reprove after the hearing 
of his ears : 

But with righteousness shall 
he judge the poor, and reprove 
with equity for the meek of the 
earth : and he shall smite the 
earth with the rod of his mouth, 
and with the breath of his lips 
shall he slay the wicked. 

And righteousness shall be the 
girdle of his loins, and faithful- 
ness the girdle of his reins. 

The wolf also shall dvv^ell with 
the lamb, and the leopard shall 
lie down with the kid ; and the 
calf and the young lion and the 
fatling together ; and a little 
child shall lead them. 

And the cow and the bear 
shall feed; their young ones 



shall lie down together ; and the 
lion shall eat straw like the ox. 

And the sucking child shall 
play on the hole of the asp, and 
the weaned child shall put his 
hand on the cockatrice' den. 

They shall not hurt nor de- 
stroy in all my holy mountain : 
for the earth shall be full of the 
knowledge of the Lord, as the 
waters cover the sea. 

And in that day there shall 
be a root of Jesse, which shall 
stand for an ensign of the peo- 
ple ; to it shall the Gentiles seek : 
and his rest shall be glorious. 

And it shall come to pass in 
that day, that the Lord shall set 
his hand again the second time 
to recover the remnant of his 
people, which shall be left, from 
Assyria, and from Egypt, and 
from Pathros, and from Cush, 
and from Elam, and from Shinar, 
and from Hamath, and from the 
islands of the sea. 

And he shall set up an ensign 
for the nations, and shall assem- 
ble the outcasts of Israel, and 
gather together the dispersed of 
Judah from the four corners of 
the earth. 

The envy also of Ephraim 
shall depart, and the adversaries 
of Judah shall be cut off : Eph- 
raim shall not envy Judah, and 
Judah shall not vex Ephraim. 

But they shall fly upon the 
shoulders of the Philistines to- 
ward the west ; they shall spoil 
them of the east together: they 
shall lay their hand upon Edom 
and Moab ; and the children of 
Ammon shall obey them. 

And the Lord shall utterly 
destroy the tongue of the Egyp- 
tian sea ; and with his mighty 
wind shall he shake his hand 
over the river, and shall smite it 
in the seven streams, and make 
men go over dryshod. 



64 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

(1) The King is Davidic (v. 1) ; (2) His power is the 
seven-fold fulness of the Spirit (v. 2) ; (3) the key- 
word of the kingdom reign is righteousness (vs. 3-5) ; 
(4) the result of the reign of righteousness is peace (vs. 
6-9, for these are eternally related as cause and effect 
(Isa. 32: 17)^^; (5) the extent of the kingdom is *'the 
earth" (v. 9) ; (6) Israel is restored to the land (vs. 
10-12) ; (7) the divided nation becomes one (v. 13). 

And this is also the order of events in Jeremiah's 
predictions concerning the kingdom : 

''I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all coun- 
tries whither I have driven them, and will bring them 
again to their folds ; and they shall be fruitful and in- 
crease . . . and they shall fear no more, nor be dis- 
mayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord. 
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will raise 
unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign 
and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in 
the earth. In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel 
shall dwell safely : and this is his name whereby he shall 
be called. The Lord our righteousness'' (Jer. 23: 3-6). 

Verses 7 and 8 -^ describe the regathering of the nation 
announced in verse 3. And the restoration of Israel to 
the land in connection with the establishment of Mes- 
siah's kingdom is a great and constant theme of the 
Prophets (Isa. 49:8-13; 52:1-12; Jer. 31:7-25; Ezek. 
36: 16-38). 21 

And there shall be an high- seed of the house of Israel out 

way for the remnant of his peo- of the north country, and from 

pie, which shall be left, from all countries whither I had 

Assyria ; like as it was to Israel ^j^iven them ; and they shall 

'"1 \v.^ 1^^^^ %^ fet.^.r'^''^ ?r dwell in their own land.-/^r. 
of the land of Egypt. — Jsa. ii. ^^ o 

*^ And the work of righteous- ""*'%; Ij^- .. .i. t j t 

ness shall be peace; and the ''Thus saith the Lord, In an 

effect of righteousness quietness acceptable time have I heard 

and assurance for ever. — Isa. thee, and in a day of salvation 

j^ ; //. have I helped thee : and I will 

^^ Therefore, behold, the days preserve thee, and give thee for 

come, saith the Lord, that they a covenant of the people, to es- 

shall no more say, The Lord tablish the earth, to cause to 

liveth, which brought up the inherit the desolate heritages ; 

children of Israel out of the That thou mayest say to the 

land of Egypt. prisoners, Go forth ; to them that 

But, The Lord liveth, which are in darkness. Shew your- 

brought up and which led the selves. They shall feed in the 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 



65 



ways, and their pastures shall 
be in all high places. 

They shall not hunger nor 
thirst ; neither shall the heat nor 
sun smite them : for he that 
hath mercy on them shall lead 
them, even by tJie springs of 
water shall he guide them. 

And I will make all my moun- 
tains a way, and my highways 
shall be exalted. 

Behold, these shall come from 
far : and, lo, these from the 
north and from the west ; and 
these from the land of Sinini. 

Sing, O heavens; and be joy- 
ful, O earth ; and break forth 
into singing, O mountains : for 
the Lord hath comforted his 
people, and will have mercy 
upon his afflicted. — Isa. 49 : 8-13. 

Awake, awake ; put on thy 
strength, O Zion ; put on thy 
beautiful garments, O Jeru- 
salem, the holy city : for hence- 
forth there shall no more come 
into thee the uncircumcised and 
the unclean. 

Shake thyself from the dust ; 
arise, and sit down, O Jeru- 
salem : loose thyself from the 
bands of thy neck, O captive 
daughter of Zion. Etc. — Isa. 52: 

I'J2. 

For thus saith the Lord ; Sing 
with gladness for Jacob, and 
shout among the chief of the 
nations : publish ye, praise ye, 
and say, O Lord, save thy peo- 
ple, the remnant of Israel. 

Behold, I will bring them from 
the north country, and gather 
them from the coasts of the 
earth, and with them the blind 
and the lame, the woman with 
child and her that travaileth 
with child together : a great 
company shall return thither. 

They shall come with weep- 
ing, and with supplications will 
I lead them : I will cause them 
to walk by the rivers of waters 
in a straight way, wherein they 
shall not stumble : for I am a 
father to Israel, and Ephraim is 
my firstborn. 

Hear the word of the Lord, 
O ye nations, and declare it in 



the isles afar off, and say. He 
that scattered Israel will gather 
him, and keep him, as a shep- 
herd doth his flock. 

For the Lord hath redeemed 
Jacob, and ransomed him from 
the hand of him that was 
stronger than he. 

Therefore they shall come and 
sing in the height of Zion, and 
shall flow together to the good- 
ness of the Lord, for wheat, 
and for wine, and for oil, and 
for the young of the flock and of 
the herd : and their soul shall 
be as a watered garden ; and 
they shall not sorrow any more 
at all. ... 

And there is hope in thine 
end, saith the Lord, that thy 
children shall come again to 
their own border. . . . 

Set thee up waymarks, make 
thee high heaps : set thine heart 
toward the highway, even the 
way which thou wentest : turn 
again, O virgin of Israel, turn 
again to these thy cities. . . . 

Thus saith the Lord of hosts, 
the God of Israel ; As yet they 
shall use this speech in the land 
of Judah and in the cities 
thereof, when I shall bring 
again their captivity ; The Lord 
bless thee, O habitation of jus- 
tice, and mountain of holiness. 

And there shall dwell in 
Judah itself, and in all the cities 
thereof together, husbandmen, 
and they that go forth with 
flocks. 

For I have satiated the weary 
soul, and I have replenished 
every sorrowful soul. — Jer. 31 : 
7-25. 

. . . For I will take you from 
among the heathen, and gather 
you out of all countries, and will 
bring you into your own land. 

Then will I sprinkle clean 
water upon you, and ye shall be 
clean : from all your filthiness, 
and from all your idols, will I 
cleanse you. 

A new heart also will I give 
you, and a new spirit will I put 
within you : and I will take away 
the stony heart out of your flesh. 



66 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



It is dbvious that none of these events took place at 
the first advent of Christ — the advent to suffer. Dis- 
persed Israel was not regathered ; the nation then in 
Palestine refused to recognize Christ as the promised 
king; they refused no less emphatically to give Him the 
name, "Our Righteousness" (Rom. 10 : 3) ; nor has Israel 
*'dvv^elt safely'' in the land. 

The same order of events is again repeated in Jere- 
miah 33 : 1-17,^^ the word of the Lord which was given to 
comfort and assure the Prophet in his imprisonment; 
the King sets up His kingdom and Israel is regathered. 



and I will give you an heart of 
flesh. 

And I will put my spirit within 
you, and cause you to walk in 
my statutes, and ye shall keep 
my judgments, and do them. 

And ye shall dwell in the land 
that I gave to your fathers ; and 
ye shall be my people, and I will 
be your God. Etc. — Esek. 36: 
16-38. 

^^ Moreover the word of the 
Lord came unto Jeremiah the 
second time, while he was yet 
shut up in the court of the 
prison, saying, . . . 

And I will cause the captivity 
of Judah and the captivity of 
Israel to return, and will build 
them, as at the first. . . . 

Thus saith the Lord ; Again 
there shall be heard in this 
place, which ye say shall be 
desolate without man and with- 
out beast, ^^'^n in the cities of 
Judah, and in the streets of 
Jerusalem, that are desolate, 
without man, and without in- 
habitant, and without beast, 

The voice of joy, and the 
voice of gladness, the voice of 
the bridegroom, and the voice 
of the bride, the voice of them 
that shall say, Praise the Lord 
of hosts : for the Lord is good ; 
for his mercy endureth for ever : 
and of them that shall bring 
the sacrifice of praise into the 
house of the Lord. For I will 



cause to return the captivity 
of the land, as at the first, saith 
the Lord. 

Thus saith the Lord of hosts ; 
Again in this place, which is 
desolate without man and with- 
out beast, and in all the cities 
thereof, shall be an habitation 
of shepherds causing their flocks 
to lie down. 

In the cities of the mountains, 
in the cities of the vale, and in 
the cities of the south, and in 
the land of Benjamin, and in the 
places about Jerusalem, and in 
the cities of Judah, shall the 
flocks pass again under the 
hands of him that telleth them, 
saith the Lord. 

Behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that I will perform 
that good thing which I have 
promised unto the house of 
Israel and to the house of 
Judah. 

In those days, and at that 
time, will I cause the Branch of 
righteousness to grow up unto 
David ; and he shall execute 
judgment and righteousness in 
the land. 

In those days shall Judah be 
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell 
safely : and this is the name 
wherewith she shall be called, 
The Lord our righteousness. 

For thus saith the Lord : 
David shall never want a man 
to sit upon the throne of the 
house of Israel. — Jer. 33:1-17- 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 



67 



Ezekiel again and again repeats the order of events 
which accompany the estabHshment of the kingdom 
(Ezek. 28:25, 26; 34:11-31; 36:1-12, 24-38; 37:1-28; 
39: 25-29). 23 



^Thus saith the Lord God: 
When I shall have gathered the 
house of Israel from the people 
among whom they are scattered, 
and shall be sanctified in them 
in the sight of the heathen, then 
shall they dwell in their land 
that I have given to my servant 
Jacob. 

And they shall dwell safely 
therein, and shall build houses, 
and plant vineyards ; yea, they 
shall dwell with confidence, 
when I have executed judgments 
upon all those that despise them. 
' — Ezek. 28 : 25, 26. 

For thus saith the Lord God ; 
Behold, I, even I, will both 
search my sheep, and seek them 
out. 

As a shepherd seeketh out his 
flock in the day that he is among 
his sheep that are scattered ; so 
will I seek out my sheep, and 
will deliver them out of all 
places where they have been 
scattered in the cloudy and dark 
day. 

And I will bring them out 
from the people, and gather 
them from the countries, and 
will bring them to their own 
land, and feed them upon the 
mountains of Israel by the 
rivers, and in all the inhabited 
places of the country. . . . 

And I will set up one shep- 
herd over them, and he shall 
feed them, even my servant 
David ; he shall feed them, and 
he shall be their shepherd. 

And I the Lord will be their 
God, and my servant David a 
prince among them ; I the Lord 
have spoken it. . . . — Ezek. 34 : 

Also, thou son of man, proph- 
esy unto the mountains of Is- 
rael, and say, Ye mountains of 
Israel, hear the word of the 
Lord : 



Thus saith the Lord God ; 
Because the enemy hath said 
against you, Aha, even the an- 
cient high places are ours in 
possession : . . . 

For, behold, I am for you, 
and I will turn unto you, and 
ye shall be tilled and sown: 

And I will multiply men upon 
you, all the house of Israel, 
even all of it : and the cities 
shall be inhabited, and the 
wastes shall be builded : 

And I will multiply upon you 
man and beast ; and they shall 
increase and bring fruit : and 
I will settle you after your 
old estates, and will do better 
unto you than at your begin- 
nings : and ye shall know that 
I am the Lord. 

Yea, I will cause men to walk 
upon you, even my people Is- 
rael ; and they shall possess 
thee, and thou shalt be their 
inheritance, and thou shalt no 
more henceforth bereave them 
of men. — Ezek. 36:1-12. 

For I will take you from 
among the heathen, and gather 
you out of all countries, and 
will bring you into your own 
land. 

Then will I sprinkle clean 
water upon you, and ye shall 
be clean : from all your filthi- 
ness, and from all your idols, 
will I cleanse you. 

A new heart also will I give 
you, and a new spirit will I put 
within you : and I will take 
away the stony heart out of your 
flesh, and I will give you an 
heart of flesh. 

And I will put my spirit with- 
in you, and cause you to walk 
in my statutes, and ye shall keep 
my judgments, and do them. 

And ye shall dwell in the land 
that I gave to your fathers; 



68 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



and ye shall be my people, and I 
will be your God . . . 

And the desolate land shall be 
tilled, whereas it lay desolate 
in the sight of all that passed 
by. 

And they shall say, This land 
that was desolate is become like 
the garden of Eden, and the 
waste and desolate and ruined 
cities are become fenced, and 
are inhabited. 

Then the heathen that are 
left round about you shall know 
that I the Lord build the ruined 
places, and plant that that was 
desolate : I the Lord have spo- 
ken it, and I will do it. . . . — 
E:::ek. 36: 24-38. 

The hand of the Lord was 
upon me, and carried me out 
in the spirit of the Lord, and 
set mc down in the midst of the 
valley which was full of bones. 

And caused me to pass by 
them round about : and, behold, 
there were very many in the 
open valley ; and, lo, they were 
very dry. 

And he said unto me. Son of 
man, can these bones live? And 
I answered, O Lord God, thou 
knowest. . . . 

Then he said unto me, Son of 
man, these bones are the whole 
house of Israel : behold, they 
say, Our bones are dried, and 
our hope is lost : we are cut ofif 
for our parts. 

Therefore prophesy and say 
unto them. Thus saith the Lord 
God ; Behold, O my people, I 
will open your graves, and cause 
you to come up out of your 
graves, and bring you into the 
land of Israel. 

And ye shall know that I am 
the Lord, when I have opened 
your graves, O my people, and 
brought you up out of your 
graves. . . . 

And say unto them, Thus 
saith the Lord God ; Behold, I 
will take the children of Israel 
from among the heathen, whith- 
er they be gone, and will gather 
them on every side, and bring 
them into their own land : 



And I will make them one na- 
tion in the land upon the moun- 
tains of Israel ; and one king 
shall be king to them all : and 
they shall be no more two na- 
tions, neither shall they be di- 
vided into two kingdoms any 
more at all : 

Neither shall they defile them- 
selves any more with their idols, 
nor with their detestable things, 
nor with any of their transgres- 
sions : but I will save them out 
of all their dwelling places, 
wherein they have sinned, and 
will cleanse them : so shall they 
be my people, and I will be 
their God. 

And David my servant shall 
be king over them ; and they all 
shall have one shepherd ; they 
shall also walk in my judg- 
ments, and observe my statutes, 
and do them. 

And they shall dwell in the 
land that I have given unto Ja- 
cob my servant, wherein your 
fathers have dwelt ; and they 
shall dwell therein, even they, 
and their children, and their 
children's children for ever : 
and my servant David shall be 
their prince for ever. 

Moreover I will make a cove- 
nant of peace with them ; it 
shall be an everlasting covenant 
with them : and I will place 
them, and multiply them, , and 
will set my sanctuary in the 
midst of them for evermore. 

My tabernacle also shall be 
with them : yea, I will be their 
God, and they shall be my peo- 
ple. 

And the heathen shall know 
that I the Lord do sanctify Is- 
rael, when my sanctuary shall 
be in the midst of them for 
evermore. — Ezek. 37 : 1-28. 

Therefore thus saith the Lord 
God ; Now will I bring again the 
captivity of Jacob, and have 
mercy upon the whole house of 
Israel, and will be jealous for 
my holy name ; 

After that they have borne 
their shame, and all their tres- 
passes whereby they have tres- 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 



69 



The book of Daniel has a distinctive message covering 
the long period of Gentile world-rule. It is now mere 
history that, from the time of Nebuchadnezzar, king of 
Babylon, 610 B. C, to this present time, the government 
of the world has been in Gentile hands. To this long 
period of time our Lord gave a name, and a sign : 

'Jerusalem shall be trodden under foot of the Gen- 
tiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled" (Luke 
21:24). It is still the "times of the Gentiles,'' and 
Jerusalem is still ''trodden under foot of the Gentiles." 

Daniel is the prophet of "the times of the Gentiles." 
Carried away to Babylon, his long life extended from 
the reign of Nebuchadnezzar to that of Cyrus. Interpret- 
ing a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 2: 31-45),^^ 



passed against me, when they 
dwelt safely in their land, and 
none made them afraid. 

When I have brought them 
again from the people, and gath- 
ered them out of their enemies' 
lands, and am sanctified in them 
in the sight of many nations ; 

Then shall they know that I 
am the Lord their God, which 
caused them to be led into cap- 
tivity among the heathen : but 
I have gathered them unto their 
own land, and have left none of 
them any more there. 

Neither will I hide my face 
any more from them : for I have 
poured out my spirit upon the 
house of Israel, saith the Lord 
God. — Ezek. 39 : 25-29. 

^ Thou, O king, sawest, and 
behold a great image. This 
great image, whose brightness 
was excellent, stood before 
thee ; and the form thereof was 
terrible. 

This image's head was of fine 
gold, his breast and his arms 
of silver, his belly and his 
thighs of brass, 

His legs of iron, his feet part 
of iron and part of clay. 

Thou sawest till that a stone 
was cut out without hands, 
which smote the image upon his 
feet that were of iron and clay, 
and brake them to pieces. 



Then was the iron, the clay, 
the brass, the silver, and the 
gold, broken to pieces together, 
and became like the chaff of the 
summer threshingfloors ; and the 
wind carried them away, that 
no place was found for them : 
and the stone that smote the 
image became a great mountain, 
and filled the whole earth. 

This is the dream ; and we 
will tell the interpretation there- 
of before the king. 

Thou, O king, art a king of 
kings : for the God of heaven 
hath given thee a kingdom, 
power, and strength, and glory. 

And wheresoever the children 
of men dwell, the beasts of the 
field and the fowls of the heaven 
hath he given into thine hand, 
and hath made thee ruler over 
them all. Thou art this head of 
gold. 

And after thee shall arise an- 
other kingdom inferior to thee, 
and another third kingdom of 
brass, which shall bear rule over 
all the earth. 

And the fourth kingdom shall 
be strong as iron : forasmuch as 
iron breaketh in pieces and sub- 
dueth all things: and as iron 
that breaketh all these, shall it 
break in pieces and bruise. 

And whereas thou sawest the 
feet and toes, part of potters' 



70 



IVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



it was given to Daniel to see the entire course of Gentile 
world domination to the end. He saw four world em- 
pires fulfilled : in Babylon ; Medo-Persia ; the Greek em- 
pire of Alexander, with its division into four parts ; and 
Rome. He saw no other Gentile world empire, and all 
attempts to establish one have failed, and are doomed to 
failure. He saw Rome divided, first into two parts and 
then into ten (vs. 33, 40-43).-^ The division into two 
was fulfilled in the Eastern Empire with its capital at 
Constantinople, and the Western Empire with its capital 
at Rome. He saw these (symbolized by the two legs 
of the image) deteriorate and divide — a division ulti- 
mately into ten kingdoms occupying the territory once 
covered by the undivided Roman Empire. 

And then a startling and supernatural event swung 
into the prophet's ken. The ten final kingdoms of the 
Gentiles go down in catastrophe. A "stone cut out with- 



clay, and part of iron, the king- 
dom shall be divided ; but there 
shall be in it of the strength 
of the iron, forasmuch as thou 
sawest the iron mixed with miry 
clay. 

And as the toes of the feet 
were part of iron, and part of 
clay, so the kingdom shall be 
partly strong, and partly broken. 

And whereas thou sawest iron 
mixed with miry clay, they shall 
mingle themselves with the seed 
of men : but they shall not 
cleave one to another, even as 
iron is not mixed with clay. 

And in the days of these 
kings shall the God of heaven 
set up a kingdom, which shall 
never be destroyed : and the 
kingdom shall not be left to 
other people, but it shall break 
in pieces and consume all these 
kingdoms, and it shall stand for 
ever. 

Forasmuch as thou sawest 
that the stone was cut out of 
the mountain without hands, and 
that it brake in pieces the iron, 
the brass, the clay, the silver, 
and the gold ; the great God 



hath made known to the king 
what shall come to pass here- 
after : and the dream is cer- 
tain, and the interpretation 
thereof sure. — Dan. 2:31-43. 

^^ His legs of iron, his feet 
part of iron and part of clay. 

And the fourth kingdom shall 
be strong as iron : forasmuch as 
iron breaketh in pieces and sub- 
dueth all things: and as iron 
that breaketh all these, shall it 
break in pieces and bruise. 

And whereas thou sawest the 
feet and toes, part of potters* 
clay, and part of iron, the king- 
dom shall be divided ; but there 
shall be in it of the strength of 
the iron, forasmuch as thou 
sawest the iron mixed with miry 
clay. 

And as the toes of the feet 
zvere part of iron, and part of 
clay, so the kingdom shall be 
partly strong, and partly broken. 

And whereas thou sawest iron 
mixed with miry clay, they shall 
mingle themselves with the seed 
of men : but they shall not 
cleave one to another, even as 
iron is not mixed with clay. — 
Dan. 2 : 33, 40-43- 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 71 

out hands'' smites the image into a destruction likened 
unto the chaff of the summer threshing-floor. There is 
no reconstruction of Gentile world power. But the sphere 
of earth government so long filled with Gentile empires 
and kingdoms gives place to quite another rule : 

*'And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven 
set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed : and 
the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall 
break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it 
shall stand for ever." 

It is from this passage that the designation ''kingdom 
of heaven" comes. 

The Prophecy of Daniel adds many most important 
details, especially of the time of the end of Gentile domin- 
ion, into which we cannot now enter. But Daniel's 
greatly important contribution to the message of the 
prophets concerning the kingdom is in his order of time. 
First, the four world empires of the Gentiles; second, 
the deterioration and division of the fourth world empire 
into two and ultimately into ten; third, the setting up 
of the kingdom of heaven after the catastrophic destruc- 
tion of the ten. 

It is certain that nothing of this came to pass at the 
advent of Messiah to suffer. The fourth empire, Rome, 
was in the zenith of its strength, and had undergone 
neither deterioration nor division. Gentile world-power 
does not change into the kingdom of the God of heaven 
by the transfer of individuals from one to the other, as 
by the gradual conversion of the Gentile world. The 
end of Gentile world-power is sudden, destructive, over- 
whelming. And this is also the testimony of Jesus Christ, 
and of His apostles (Luke 17:26-32; 1 Thess. 5:1-4; 
2Thess. 1:6-10). 26 

^® And as it was in the days days of Lot ; they did eat, they 

of Noe, so shall it be also in drank, they bought, they sold, 

the days of the Son of man. they planted, they builded ; 

They did eat, they drank, they But the same day that Lot 

married wives, they were given went out of Sodom it rained 

in marriage, until the day that iire and brimstone from heaven, 

Noe entered into the ark, and and destroyed them all. 

the flood came, and destroyed Even thus shall it be in the 

them all. day when the Son of man is 

Likewise also as it was in the revealed. 



72 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



Passing over much of ,^reat interest in other of the 
prophets, note a brief mention of the kingdom prophecies 
of Zechariah. His twelfth chapter-'^ gives a graphic pic- 
ture of the final siege of Jerusalem and the battle of 
Armageddon (comp. Isa. 10; Rev. 19), followed by 



In that day, he which shall 
be upon the housetop, and his 
stuif in the house, let him not 
come down to take it away : and 
he that is in the field, let him 
likewise not return back. 

Remember Lot's wife. — Luke 
17 : 26-32. 

But of the times and the sea- 
sons, brethren, ye have no need 
that I write unto you. 

For yourselves know perfect- 
ly that the day of the Lord so 
cometh as a thief in the night. 

For when they shall say. 
Peace and safety ; then sudden 
destruction cometh upon them, 
as travail upon a woman with 
child ; and they shall not escape. 

But ye, brethren, are not in 
darkness, that that day should 
overtake you as a thief. — / 
Thess. 5 ; 1-4. 

Seeing it is a righteous thing 
with God to recompense tribu- 
lation to them that trouble you ; 

And to you who are troubled 
rest with us, when the Lord 
Jesus shall be revealed from 
heaven with his mighty angels. 

In flaming fire taking venge- 
ance on them that know not 
God, and that obey not the gos- 
pel of our Lord Jesus Christ : 

Who shall be punished with 
everlasting destruction from the 
presence of the Lord, and from 
the glory of his power; 

Vv'hcn he shall come to be 
glorified in his saints, and to 
be admired in all them that be- 
lieve (because our testimony 
among you was believed) in that 
day. — 2 Thess. 1 : 6-10. 

"^The burden of the word of 
the Lord for Israel, saith the 
Lord, which stretcheth forth the 
heavens, and layeth the founda- 
tion of the earth, and formeth 
the spirit of man within him. 



Behold, I will make Jerusalem 
a cup of trembling unto all the 
people round about, when they 
shall be in the siege both against 
Judah and against Jerusalem. 

And in that day will I make 
Jerusalem a burdensome stone 
for all people : all that burden 
themselves with it shall be cut in 
pieces, though all the people of 
the earth be gathered together 
against it. 

In that day, saith the Lord, I 
will smite every horse with as- 
tonishment, and his rider with 
madness : and I will open mine 
eyes upon the house of Judah, 
and will smite every horse of 
the people with blindness. 

And the governors of Judah 
shall say in their heart, The in- 
habitants of Jerusalem shall he 
my strength in the Lord of hosts 
their God. 

In that day will I make the 
governors of Judah like a hearth 
of fire among the wood, and like 
a torch of fire in a sheaf; and 
they shall devour all the people 
round about, on the right hand 
and on the left : and Jerusalem 
shall be inhabited again in her 
own place, even in Jerusalem. 

The Lord also shall save the 
tents of Judah first, that the 
glory of the house of David and 
the glory of the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem do not magnify them- 
selves against Judah. 

In that day shall the Lord de- 
fend the inhabitants of Jerusa- 
lem ; and he that is feeble among 
them at that day shall be as 
David ; and the house of David 
shall be as God, as the angel of 
the Lord before them. 

And it shall come to pass in 
that day, that I will seek to de- 
stroy all the nations that come 
against Jerusalem. 



THE VISION OF THE KINGDOM 



73 



the repentance and conversion of the Jews, and this 
(Zech. 14) by the coming of the Lord in glory and the 
great declaration : 

''And the Lord shall be king over all the earth . . . 
And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of 
all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even 
go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord 
of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles . . . Yea, 
every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness 
unto the Lord of hosts/' 

The kingdom of the Prophets, then, is founded upon 
the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:10-17)^^; is heavenly 
in origin and principles, and in the Person of the King 
(Dan. 2:44)^^; is set up on the earth, with Jerusalem 



And I will pour upon the 
house of David, and upon the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the 
spirit of grace and of supplica- 
tions : and they shall look upon 
me whom they have pierced, and 
they shall mourn for him, as one 
mourneth for his only son, and 
shall be in bitterness for him, 
as one that is in bitterness for 
his firstborn. 

In that day shall there be a 
great mourning in Jerusalem, as 
the mourning of Hadadrimmon 
in the valley of Megiddon. 

And the land shall mourn, 
every family apart ; the family of 
the house of David apart, and 
their wives apart ; the family of 
the house of Nathan apart, and 
their wives apart ; 

The family of the house of 
Levi apart, and their wives apart ; 
the family of Shimei apart, and 
their wives apart ; 

All the families that remain, 
every family apart, and their 
wives apart. — Zech. 12. 

'® Moreover I will appoint a 
place for my people Israel, and 
will plant them, that they may 
dwell in a place of their own, 
and move no more ; neither shall 
the children of wickedness afflict 
them any more, as beforetime, 

And as since the time that I 
commanded judges to be over 



my people Israel, and have 
caused thee to rest from all 
thine enemies. Also the Lord 
telleth thee that he will make 
thee an house. 

And when thy days be ful- 
filled, and thou shalt sleep with 
thy fathers, I will set up thy 
seed after thee, which shall pro- 
ceed out of thy bowels, and I 
will establish his kingdom. 

He shall build an house for 
my name, and I will stablish the 
throne of his kingdom for ever. 
I will be his father, and he 
shall be my son. If he commit 
iniquity, I will chasten him with 
the rod of men, and with the 
stripes of the children of men : 

But my mercy shall not de- 
part away from him, as I took 
it from Saul, whom I put away 
before thee. 

And thine house and thy king- 
dom shall be established for 
ever before thee ; thy throne 
shall be established for ever. 

According to all these words, 
and according to all this vision, 
so did Nathan speak unto Da- 
vid. — 2 Sam. 7 : 10-17. 

^® And in the days of these 
kings shall the God of heaven 
set up a kingdom, which shall 
never be destroyed : and the 
kingdom shall not be left to oth- 
er people, hut it shall break in 



74 



JVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



as the capital (Isa. 2: 1-4)^^ is first established over re- 
gathered and converted Israel, extending then over the 
earth; and is established by power, not persuasion (Isa. 
9:7; Luke 1:32).^^ 



pieces and consume all these 
kingdoms, and it shall stand for 
ever. — Dan. 2 : 44. 

^^ The word that Isaiah the 
son of Amoz saw concerning 
Judah and Jerusalem. 

And it shall come to pass in 
the last days, that the mountain 
of the Lord's house shall be es- 
tablished in the top of the moun- 
tains, and shall be exalted above 
the hills ; and all nations shall 
flow unto it. 

And many people shall go and 
say, Come ye, and let us go up 
to the mountain of the Lord, to 
the house of the God of Jacob ; 
and he will teach us of his ways, 
and we will walk in his paths : 
for out of Zion shall go forth 
the law, and the word of the 
Lord from Jerusalem. 



And he shall judge among the 
nations, and shall rebuke many 
people: and they shall beat their 
swords into ploughshares, and 
their spears into pruninghooks : 
nation shall not lift up sword 
against nation, neither shall they 
learn war any more. — Isa. 2: 
1-4. 

^^ Of the increase of his gov- 
ernment and peace there shall 
be no end, upon the throne of 
David, and upon his kingdom, 
to order it, and to establish it 
with judgment and with justice 
from henceforth even for ever. 
The zeal of the Lord of hosts 
will perform this. — Isa. 9 ; 7. 

He shall be great, and shall 
be called the son of the High- 
est : and the Lord God shall 
give unto him the throne of 
his father David. — Luke 1:32, 



VI. THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF 
JESUS CHRIST 

THE Lord Jesus Christ in His incarnation is ap- 
pointed to a three-fold ministry, indicated by the 
titles. Prophet, Priest, and King. He is the 
*Trophet like unto me" foretold by Moses 
(Deut. 18:15; Acts 7:37)^— that is, the Prophet who 
introduces a new order (John 1:17).^ But He does 
not at once introduce the new order — grace. ''Made 
of a woman, made under the law" (Gal. 4:4) He 
begins His prophetic ministry to a people also under law 
by the ofifer of Himself as the One to whom all the Old 
Testament prophets bore witness, the King ''meek and 
lowly" (Matt. 21:4, 5) in whom the kingdom was now 
"at hand." 

Like the Old Testament prophets Jesus Christ is first 
of all a forthteller, and, as with them, it is the refusal 
of His message by the Jews which calls out His predictive 
ministry. The Sermon on the Mount strikes the ethical 
note of the elder prophets, but lifts it to its highest 
potency. There is not a ray of grace in it, nor a drop 
of blood. Tested by the Sermon on the Mount the high- 
est attainment of humanity in the reach after righteous- 
ness utterly fails. The Beatitudes describe the character 
that alone brings happiness, but not the admirers of pov- 
erty of spirit, meekness, spiritual hunger and thirst, 
mercifulness, and purity of heart, but the possessors of 
these supreme graces, are the "blessed." 

In this ethical ministry the two ideas of the kingdom 

' The Lord thy God will raise prophet shall the Lord your God 

up unto thee a Prophet from raise up unto you of your breth- 

the midst of thee, of thy breth- ren, like unto me ; him shall ye 

ren, like unto me ; unto him hear. — Acts 7 : 37. 

ye shall hearken. — Deut. 18 : 15. ^ For the law was given by 

This is that Moses, which said Moses, hut grace and truth came 

unto the children of Israel, A by Jesus Christ. — John i : 17. 

7S 



76 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVr 



of God and of the kingdom of heaven blend. For the 
kingdom of heaven is to bring in the kingdom of God 
(1 Cor. 15:24-28),^ and the true subjects of the king- 
dom of heaven, that is, true beHevers in Christ, are al- 
ready in the kingdom of God. 

In considering the prophetic ministry of Christ it is 
of the last importance to bear in mind that, like the proph- 
ets of old. His ministry was primarily to Israel (Matt. 
10: 5-7).^ For it is always true that blessing to Gentiles 
comes through Israel (Isa. 11:10; Rom. 11:17, 24, 
25).^ It is so in all kingdom truth, and it is so in all 
Gospel truth, and the formula is ever, "To the Jew first, 
and also to the Gentile'^ (Rom. 1 : 16; 2: 9, 10; Acts 13 : 
46).^ Perhaps the most important passage for the guid- 
ance of the student of the Gospels is Romans 15 : 8: 



^ Then cometh the end, when 
he shall have delivered up the 
kingdom to God, even the Fath- 
er ; when he shall have put 
down all rule and all authority 
and power. 

For he must reign, till he hath 
put all enemies under his feet. 

The last enemy that shall be 
destroyed is death. 

For he hath put all things 
under his feet. But when he 
saith all things are put under 
him, it is manifest that he is 
excepted, which did put all 
things under him. 

And when all things shall be 
subdued unto him, then shall the 
Son also himself be subject un- 
to him that put all things under 
him, that God may be all in all. 
— I Cor. 13 : 24-28. 

■* These twelve Jesus sent 
forth, and commanded them, 
saying, Go not into the way of 
the Gentiles, and into any city 
of the Samaritans enter ye not : 

But go rather to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel. 

And as ye go, preach, saying, 
The kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. — Matt. lo : 5-7. 

^ And in that day there shall 
be a root of Jesse, which shall 
stand for an ensign of the peo- 
ple ; to it shall the Gentiles 



seek : and his rest shall be glo- 
rious. — Isa. 11:10. 

And if some of the branches 
be broken off, and thou, being 
a wild olive tree, were graffed 
in among them, and with them 
partakest of the root and fat- 
ness of the olive tree. — Rom. 
II : 17. 

For if thou wert cut out of 
the olive tree which is wild by 
nature, and wert graffed con- 
trary to nature into a good olive 
tree : how much more shall 
these, which be the natural 
branches, be graffed into their 
own olive tree? 

For I would not, brethren, 
that ye should be ignorant of 
this mystery, lest ye should be 
wise in your own conceits ; that 
blindness in part is happened to 
Israel, until the fulness of the 
Gentiles be come in. — Rom. 11: 

24-25- 

^ For I am not ashamed of 
the gospel of Christ : for it is 
the power of God unto salvation 
to every one that believeth ; to 
the Jew first, and also to the 
Greek. — Rom. i : 16. 

Tribulation and anguish, upon 
every soul of man that doeth 
evil, of the Jew first, and also 
of the Gentile ; 

But glory, honour, and peace, 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 77 

'*Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the 
circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the prom- 
ises made unto the fathers : and that the Gentiles might 
glorify God for his mercy/' 

The Gentile position is stated in Ephesians 2:12: 

''Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past 
Gentiles ... ye were without Christ, being aliens from 
the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the cov- 
enants of promise, having no hope, and without God in 
the world/' 

The Jew had (and has) ''promises"; and coupled with 
these are prophetic declarations of mercy to the Gentiles, 
as Paul abundantly shows in Romans 9, 10, and 11. 

To confirm the promises to Israel, and to bring in 
mercy to the hopeless and godless Gentile, Christ's earthly 
ministry v/as addressed. As son of David He offers the 
kingdom to the Jews; as son of Abraham He dies for 
both Jew and Gentile (Gen. 12:3; Matt. 1:1; Gal. 3: 
13, 14).'^ If this distinction is firmly held the prophetic 
ministry of the Lord Jesus will be cleared of confusion. 

He begins with the kingdom : the church is not men- 
tioned until His rejection as King is evident. 

New Testament prophecy begins with John the Bap- 
tist. His theme is the kingdom of heaven. That which 
the Old Testament prophet saw afar off, John announces 
as ''at hand." That phrase ''at hand" has acquired in 
Scripture usage a definite, almost technical, meaning. 
It signifies, not that the thing or event so announced must 

to every man that worketh good, all families of the earth be 

to the Jew first, and also to the blessed. — Gen. I2 : 3. 

Gentile Rom 2: 9 10 The book of the generation of 

Then Paul and Barnabas J^^us Christ the son of David, 



waxed bold, and said, It was 



the son of Abraham. — Matt. 



necessary that the word of God * Christ hath redeemed us from 

should first have been spoken to the curse of the law, being made 

you : but seeing ye put it from a curse for us : for it is writ- 

you, and judge yourselves un- ten. Cursed is every one that 

worthy of everlasting life, lo, hangeth on a tree : 

we turn to the Gentiles.— ^cf.y , That the blessing of Abra- 

^^ ham might come on the Gen- 

7 A J T -11 ii 1 1 tiles through Jesus Christ; that 

And I will bless them that ^^ j^ig^t receive the promise 

bless thee, and curse him that of the Spirit through faith.— 

curseth thee : and in thee shall Gal, 3 : 13, 14. 



7^ 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



immediately appear, but that it is the next thing in the 
revealed program. When, for example, Paul wrote his 
letter to the Philippians the Lord was ''at hand" (Phil. 
4:5). After nineteen hundred years He is still ''at hand/' 
for His descent into the air to receive His church (1 
Cor. 15: 51, 52; 1 Thess. 4: 14-17)^ is still the next event 
in the revealed program. 

That the present Church Age would intervene before 
the return of the King in glory to set up the Messianic 
kingdom of heaven was, like the church itself, "a mys- 
tery hid in God'' (Eph. 3: 1-11).^ The true church is 
revealed in Scripture in an absolutely timeless way, unre- 
lated to earthly events, because it is in the earth as a 
heavenly thing, pilgrim and stranger ( 1 Pet. 2:11; Heb. 
3:1; Phil. 3 : 20; 1 Pet. 1 : 4).i« Hid in God also were 



^Behold, I shew you a mys- 
tery; We shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all be changed, 

In a moment, in the twinkling 
of an eye, at the last trump: 
for the trumpet shall sound, 
and the dead shall be raised in- 
corruptible, and we shall be 
changed. — / Cor. 15:51,52. 

For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with him. 

For this we say unto you by 
the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive ayid remain 
unto the coming of the Lord 
shall not prevent them which 
are asleep. 

For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump 
of God : and the dead in Christ 
shall rise first : 

Then we which are alive 
and remain shall be caught up 
together with them in the 
clouds, to meet the Lord in the 
air : and so shall we ever be 
with the Lord. — i Thess. 4 : 14- 

^ How that by revelation he 
made known unto me the mys- 



tery; (as I wrote afore in few 
words, 

Whereby, when ye read, ye 
may understand my knowledge 
in the mystery of Christ) 

Which in other ages was not 
made known unto the sons of 
men, as it is now revealed unto 
his holy apostles and prophets 
by the Spirit ; 

That the Gentiles should be 
fellowheirs, and of the same 
body, and partakers of his prom- 
ise in Christ by the gospel ; . . . 
— Eph. 3 : i-ii. 

^° Whereas angels, which are 
greater in power and might, 
bring not railing accusation 
against them before the Lord. 
— I Pet. 2: II. 

Wherefore, holy brethren, par- 
takers of the heavenly calling, 
consider the Apostle and High 
Priest of our profession, Christ 
Jesus. — Heb. 3 : i. 

For our conversation is in 
heaven ; from whence also we 
look for the Saviour, the Lord 
Jesus Christ. — Phil. 3:20. 

To an inheritance incorrupti- 
ble, and undefiled, and that fad- 
eth not away, reserved in 
heaven for you. — / Pet. 1:4. 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 79 

certain ''mysteries of the kingdom of heaven'' (Matt. 
13:11-17)^^ to be fulfilled during- the church age. To 
the church ''the Lord is at hand" every moment "till 
he come" (Phil. 4: 5 ; 1 Cor. 11 : 26).^'^ But the kingdom 
of heaven is not now "at hand" because many predicted 
events must be fulfilled before the return of the King in 
glory. Meantime the church pursues her pilgrim w^ay, 
added to by those who are outcalled by the Gospel of 
God's free grace (Acts IS : 14; 2 : A7)P Meantime, also, 
the "mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" are being ful- 
filled. 

The present age, in other words, is a parenthesis in the 
prophetic order, and was hidden from the Old Testament 
prophets. They saw "the sufferings of Christ and the 
glories that should follow" confused in one horizon (1 
Pet. 1 : 10-12)/^ Christ revealed the truth of the present 



^^ He answered and said unto 
them, Because it is given unto 
you to know the mysteries of 
the kingdom of heaven, but 
to them it is not given. 

For whosoever hath, to him 
shall be given, and he shall have 
more abundance : but whosoever 
hath not, from him shall be 
taken away even that he hath. 

Therefore speak I to them in 
parables : becaiise they seeing 
see not ; and hearing they hear 
not, neither do they understand. 

And in them is fulfilled the 
prophecy of Esaias, which saith, 
By hearing ye shall hear, and 
shall not understand ; and see- 
ing ye shall see, and shall not 
perceive : 

For this people's heart is 
waxed gross, and their ears are 
dull of hearing, and their eyes 
they have closed ; lest at any 
time they should see with their 
eyes, and hear with their ears, 
and should understand with 
their heart, and should be con- 
verted, and I should heal them. 

But blessed are your eyes, 
for they see : and your ears, for 
they hear. 

For verily I say unto yovi, 
That many prophets and right- 



eous men have desired to see 
those things which ye see, and 
have not seen them; and to 
hear those things which ye 
hear, and have not heard them. 
— Matt. IS : 11-17. 

^^ Let your moderation be 
known unto all men. The Lord 
is at hand. — Phil, 4 : 3. 

For as often as ye eat this 
bread, and drink this cup, ye do 
shew the Lord's death till he 
come. — I Cor. 11:26. 

^^ Simeon hath declared how 
God at the first did visit the 
Gentiles, to take out of them a 
people for his name. — Acts 15: 

^4' , , 

Praising God, and having fa- 
vour with all the people. And 
the Lord added to the church 
daily such as should be saved. 
— Acts 2 : 47. 

^* Of which salvation the 
prophets have inquired and 
searched diligently, who proph- 
esied of the grace that should 
come tmto you : 

Searching what, or what man- 
ner of time the Spirit of Christ 
which w^as in them did signify, 
when it testified beforehand the 
sufferings of Christ, and the 
glory that should follow. 



80 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

age — the age of the outcalHng of the church, and of 
the ''mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" — as interven- 
ing between His sufferings and His kingdom glory. 

But He did not lift the veil that hid this age until it 
had become evident that the nation to whom He had, in 
literal fulfilment of prophecy, come, had rejected Him. 
The turning point from the preaching of the kingdom of 
heaven as ''at hand" to the entrance of the Lord into the 
sphere of predictive prophecy is recorded in Matthew 11, 
12. The Twelve are warned of hatred and treachery 
(10: 17),^'^ and the cities which had witnessed His might- 
iest w^orks are appointed unto judgment (11:20-24).^* 
But what is supremely significant is that He no longer 
announces the king'dom as "at hand," but turns from 
the nation to the individual in the new message : 

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, 
and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and 
learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and 
ye shall find rest unto your souls." 

It is now personal relationship with Himself that counts. 
The earthly blessings promised to Israel are postponed 
(Deut. 30: 1-10; Jer. 33: 14-26; Acts 15: 14-17).^^ There 

Unto whom it was revealed. But I say unto you, It shall be 

that not unto themselves, but more tolerable for Tyre and 

unto us they did minister the Sidon at the day of judgment 

things, which are now reported than for you. 

unto you by them that have And thou, Capernaum, which 

preached the gospel unto you art exalted unto heaven, shalt be 

with the Holy Ghost sent down brought down to hell : for if 

from heaven ; which things the the mighty works, which have 

angels desire to look into. — been done in thee, had been 

/ Peter 1:10-12. done in Sodom, it would have 

^ But beware of men : for remained until this day. 

they will deliver you up to the But I say unto you, That it 

councils, and they will scourge shall be more tolerable for the 

you in their synagogues. — Matt. land of Sodom in the day of 

10: 17. judgment, than for thee. — Matt. 

^^ Then began he to upbraid 11:20-24. 

the cities wherein most of his ^' And it shall come to pass, 

mighty works were done, be- when all these things are come 

cause they repented not : upon thee, the blessing and the 

Woe unto thee, Chorazin, curse, which I have set before 

woe unto thee, Bethsaida ! for thee, and thou shalt call thetn 

if the mighty works, which were to mind among all the nations, 

done in you, had been done in whither the Lord thy God hath 

Tyre and Sidon, they would driven thee, 

have repented long ago in sack- And shalt return unto the 

cloth and ashes. Lord thy God, and shalt obey 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 81 



remained the formal offer of Himself ''meek and lowly," 
strangely miscalled ''the triumphal entry'' (Matt. 21: 
1-11),^® but to His disciples the words are of His ap- 
proachino- death and resurrection. 



his voice according to all that I 
command thee this day, thou 
and thy children, with all thine 
heart, and with all thy soul ; 

That then the Lord thy God 
will turn thy captivity, and have 
compassion upon thee, and w^U 
return and gather thee from all 
the nations, whither the Lord 
thy God hath scattered thee. 

If any of thine be driven out 
unto the outmost parts of heav- 
en, from thence will the Lord 
thy God gather thee, and from 
thence will he fetch thee : 

And the Lord thy God will 
bring thee into the land which 
thy fathers possessed, and thou 
shalt possess it ; and he will do 
thee good, and multiply thee 
above thy fathers. 

And the Lord thy God will 
circumcise thine heart, and the 
heart of thy seed, to love the 
Lord thy God with all thine 
heart, and with all thy soul, that 
thou rpayest live. 

And the Lord thy God will 
put all these curses upon thine 
enemies, and on them that hate 
thee, which persecuted thee. 

And thou shalt return and 
obey the voice of the Lord, and 
do all hi*^ commandments which 
I command thee this day. 

And the Lord thy God will 
make thee plenteous in every 
work of thine hand, in the fruit 
of thy body, and in the fruit of 
thy cattle, and in the fruit of 
thy land, for good : for the Lord 
will again rejoice over thee for 
good, as he rejoiced over thy 
fathers : 

If thou shalt hearken unto the 
voice of the Lord thy God, to 
keep his commandments and his 
statutes which are written in 
this book of the law, and if thou 
turn unto the Lord thy God 
with all thine heart, and with 
all thy soul. — Dent. 30:1-10. 



Behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that I will perform 
that good thing which I have 
promised unto the house of Is- 
rael and to the house of Judah. 

In those days, and at that 
time, will I cause the Branch of 
righteousness to grow up unto 
David ; and he shall execute 
judgment and righteousness in 
the land. 

In those days shall Judah be 
saved, and Jerusalem shall dwell 
safely : and this is the name 
wherewith she shall be called, 
The Lord our righteousness. . . . 
— Jer. S3 : 14-26. 

Simeon hath declared how 
God at the first did visit the 
Gentiles, to take out of them a 
people for his name. 

And to this agree the words 
of the prophets : as it is writ- 
ten, 

After this I will return, and 
will build again the tabernacle 
of David, which is fallen down ; 
and I will build again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up : 

That the residue of men 
might seek after the Lord, and 
all the Gentiles, upon whom my 
name is called, saith the Lord, 
who doeth all these things. — 
Acts 15: 14-17. 

^^. . . And a very great multi- 
tude spread their garments in the 
way ; others cut down branches 
from the trees, and strawed 
them in the way. 

And the multitudes that went 
before, and that followed, cried, 
saying, Hosanna to the Son of 
David : Blessed is he that com- 
eth in the name of the Lord ; 
Hosanna in the highest. 

And when he was come into 
Jerusalem, all the city was 
moved, saying. Who is this? 

And the multitude said, This 
is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth 
of Galilee. — Matt. 21:1-11. 



82 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



The subjects of the predictions uttered by the Christ 
are (chiefly) concerning the kingdom of heaven during 
the interval between the rejection of the King and His 
return in glory; His own death and resurrection; judg- 
ment ; the church ; the Holy Spirit ; and, especially, the 
great prophetic message which we call the Olivet Dis- 
course (Matt. 24: 1-51 ; 25: 1-46; Luke 21 : 5-36).^^ 



" And Jesus went out, and de- 
parted from the temple : and 
his disciples came to him for 
to shew him the buildings of the 
temple. 

And Jesus said unto them. 
See ye not all these things? 
verily I say unto you, There 
shall not be left here one stone 
upon another, that shall not be 
thrown down. 

And as he sat upon the mount 
of Olives, the disciples came 
unto him privately, saying, Tell 
us, when shall these things be? 
and what shall be the sign of 
thy coming, and of the end of 
the world? 

And Jesus answered and said 
unto them, Take heed that no 
man deceive you. 

For many shall come in my 
name, saying, I am Christ ; and 
shall deceive many. 

And ye shall hear of wars 
and rumours of wars : see that 
ye be not troubled : for all these 
things must come to pass, but 
the end is not yet. 

For nation shall rise against 
nation, and kingdom against 
kingdom : and there shall be 
famines, and pestilences, and 
earthquakes, in divers places. 

All these are the beginning of 
sorrows. 

Then shall they deliver you 
up to be afflicted, and shall 
kill you : and ye shall be hated 
of all nations for my name's 
sake. 

And then shall many be of- 
fended, and shall betray one an- 
other, and shall hate one an- 
other. 

And many false prophets shall 
rise, and shall deceive many. 



And because iniquity shall 
abound, the love of many shall 
wax cold. 

But he that shall endure unto 
the end, the same shall be saved. 

And this gospel of the king- 
dom shall be preached in all 
the world for a witness unto all 
nations ; and then shall the end 
come. 

When ye therefore shall see 
the abomination of desolation, 
spoken of by Daniel the proph- 
et, stand in the holy place (who- 
so readeth, let him under- 
stand :) 

Then let them which be in 
Judsea flee into the mountains : 

Let him which is on the 
housetop not come down to take 
any thing out of his house : 

Neither let him which is in 
the field return back to take his 
clothes. 

And woe unto them that are 
with child, and to them that 
give suck in those days ! 

But pray ye that your flight 
be not in the winter, neither on 
the sabbath day : 

For then shall be great tribu- 
lation, such as was not since the 
beginning of the world to this 
time, nor ever shall be. 

And except those days should 
be shortened, there should no 
flesh be saved : but for the 
elect's sake those days shall be 
shortened. 

Then if any man shall say 
unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or 
there ; believe it not. 

For there shall arise false 
Christs, and false prophets, and 
shall shew great signs and won- 
ders : insomuch that, if it were 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 83 



possible, they shall deceive the 
very elect. 

Behold, I have told you be- 
fore. 

Wherefore if they shall say 
unto you, Behold, he is in the 
desert ; go not forth : behold, he 
is in the secret chambers ; be- 
lieve it not. 

For as the lightning cometh 
out of the east, and shineth 
even unto the west ; so shall 
also the coming of the Son of 
man be. 

For wheresoever the carcase 
is, there will the eagles be gath- 
ered together. 

Immediately after the tribu- 
lation of those days shall the 
sun be darkened, and the moon 
shall not give her light, and 
the stars shall fall from heaven, 
and the powers of the heavens 
shall be shaken : 

And then shall appear the 
sign of the Son of man in 
heaven : and then shall all the 
tribes of the earth mourn, and 
they shall see the Son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven 
with power and great glory. 

And he shall send his angels 
with a great sound of a trump- 
et, and they shall gather to- 
gether his elect from the four 
winds, from one end of heaven 
to the other. 

Now learn a parable of the 
fig tree ; When his branch is yet 
tender, and putteth forth leaves, 
ye know that summer is nigh : 

So likewise ye, when ye shall 
see all these things, know that 
it is near, even at the doors. 

Verily I say unto you, This 
generation shall not pass, till all 
these things be fulfilled. 

Heaven and earth shall pass 
away, but my words shall not 
pass away. 

But of that day and hour 
knoweth no man, no, not the 
angels of heaven, but my Fath- 
er only. 

But as the days of Noe were, 
so shall also the coming of the 
Son of man be. 



For as in the days that were 
before the flood they were eat- 
ing and drinking, marrying, and 
giving in marriage, until the 
day that Noe entered into the 
ark. 

And knew not until the flood 
came, and took them all away ; 
so shall also the coming of the 
Son of man be. 

Then shall two be in the 
field ; the one shall be taken, and 
the other left. 

Two women shall he grind- 
ing at the mill ; the one shall be 
taken, and the other left. 

Watch therefore : for ye know 
not what hour your Lord doth 
come. 

But know this, that if the 
goodman of the house had 
known in what watch the thief 
would come, he would have 
watched, and would not have 
suffered his house to be broken 
up. 

Therefore be ye also ready : 
for in such an hour as ye think 
not the Son of man cometh. 

Who then is a faithful and 
wise servant, whom his lord 
hath made ruler over his house- 
hold, to give them meat in due 
season ? 

Blessed is that servant, whom 
his lord when he cometh shall 
find so doing. 

Verily I say unto you, That 
he shall make him ruler over 
all his goods. 

But and if that evil servant 
shall say in his heart, My lord 
delay eth his coming ; 

And shall begin to smite his 
fellowservants, and to eat and 
drink with the drunken ; 

The lord of that servant shall 
come in a day when he looketh 
not for him, and in an hour 
that he is not aware of. 

And shall cut him asunder, 
and appoint him his portion 
with the hypocrites : there shall 
be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth. — Matt. 24 : 1-51. 

Then shall the kingdom of 
heaven be likened unto ten vir- 
gins, which took their lamps, 



84 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



and went forth to meet the 
bridegroom. 

And five of them were wise, 
and five were foolish. 

They that were foolish took 
their lamps, and took no oil 
with them : 

But the wise took oil in their 
vessels with their lamps. 

While the bridegroom tarried, 
they all slumbered and slept. 

And at midnight there was a 
cry made, Behold, the bride- 
groom cometh ; go ye out to 
meet him. 

Then all those virgins arose, 
and trimmed their lamps. 

And the foolish said unto the 
wise, Give us of your oil ; for 
our lamps are gone out. 

But the wise answered, say- 
ing, Not so; lest there be not 
enough for us and you : but go 
ye rather to them that sell, and 
buy for yourselves. 

And while they went to buy, 
the bridegroom came ; and they 
that were ready went in with 
him to the marriage : and the 
door was shut. 

Afterward came also the oth- 
er virgins, saying. Lord, Lord, 
open to us. 

But he answered and said, 
Verily I say unto you, I know 
you not. 

Watch therefore, for ye know 
neither the day nor the hour 
wherein the Son of man com- 
eth. 

For the kingdom of heaven is 
as a man travelling into a far 
country, who called his own 
servants, and delivered unto 
them his goods. 

And unto one he gave five 
talents, to another two, and to 
another one ; to every man ac- 
cording to his several ability ; 
and straightway took his jour- 
ney. 

Then he that had received the 
five talents went and traded 
with the same, and made them 
other five talents. 

And likewise he that had re- 
ceived two, he also gained other 
two. 



But he that had received one 
went and digged in the earth, 
and hid his lord's money. 

After a long time the lord of 
those servants cometh, and reck- 
oneth with them. 

And so he that had received 
five talents came and brought 
other five talents, saying, Lord, 
thou deliveredst unto me five 
talents : behold, I have gained 
beside them five talents more. 

His lord said tmto him, Well 
done, thou good and faithful 
servant : thou hast been faithful 
over a few things, I will make 
thee ruler over many things : 
enter thou into the joy of thy 
lord. 

He also that had received 
two talents came and said, Lord, 
thou deliveredst unto me two 
talents : behold, I have gained 
two other talents beside them. 

His lord said unto him, Well 
done, good and faithful serv- 
ant : thou hast been faithful 
over a few things, I will make 
thee ruler over many things : 
enter thou into the joy of thy 
lord. 

Then he which had received 
the one talent came and said, 
Lord, I knew thee that thou art 
an hard man, reaping where 
thou hast not sown, and gath- 
ering where thou hast not 
strawed : 

And I was afraid, and went 
and hid thy talent in the earth : 
lo, there thou hast that is thine. 

His lord answered and said 
unto him, Thou wicked and 
slothful servant, thou knewest 
that I reap where I sowed not, 
and gather where I have not 
strawed : 

Thou oughtest therefore to 
have put my money to the ex- 
changers, and then at my com- 
ing I should have received mine 
own with usury. 

Take therefore the talent 
from him, and give it unto him 
which hath ten talents. 

For unto every one that hath 
shall be given, and he shall 
have abundance : but from him 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 85 



that hath not shall be taken 
away even that which he hath. 

And cast ye the unprofitable 
servant into outer darkness : 
there shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth. 

When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall 
he sit upon the throne of his 
glory : 

And before him shall be gath- 
ered all nations : and he shall 
separate them one from another, 
as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
from the goats : 

And he shall set the sheep 
on his right hand, but the goats 
on the left. 

Then shall the King say un- 
to them on his right hand, 
Come, ye blessed of my Father, 
inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of 
the world : 

For I was an hungred, and 
ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, 
and ye gave me drink : I was 
a stranger, and ye took me in : 

Naked, and ye clothed me : I 
was sick, and ye visited me : I 
was in prison, and ye came unto 
me. 

Then shall the righteous an- 
swer him, saying, Lord, when 
saw we thee an hungred, and 
fed theef or thirsty, and gave 
thee drink? 

When saw we thee a stran- 
ger, and took thee in? or naked, 
and clothed theef 

Or when saw we thee sick, 
or in prison, and came unto 
thee? 

And the King shall answer 
and say unto them, Verily I say 
unto you, Inasmuch as ye have 
done it unto one of the least 
of these my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me. 

Then shall he say also unto 
them on the left hand. Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the 
devil and his angels : 

For I was an hungred, and ye 
gave me no meat: I was thirsty, 
and ye gave me no drink : 



I was a stranger, and ye took 
me not in : naked, and ye 
clothed me not : sick, and in 
prison, and ye visited me not. 

Then shall they also answer 
him, saying, Lord, when saw we 
thee an hungred, or athirst, or 
a stranger, or naked, or sick, 
or in prison, and did not min- 
ister unto thee ? 

Then shall he answer them, 
saying. Verily I say unto you. 
Inasmuch as ye did it not to 
one of the least of these, ye 
did it not to me. 

And these shall go away into 
everlasting punishment : but the 
righteous into life eternal. — 
Matt. 25 : 1-46. 

And as some spake of the 
temple, how it was adorned with 
goodly stones and gifts, he said, 

As for these things which ye 
behold, the days will come, in 
the which there shall not be left 
one stone upon another, that 
shall not be thrown down. 

And they asked him, saying. 
Master, but when shall these 
things be? and what sign will 
there he when these things shall 
come to pass? 

And he said. Take heed that 
ye be not deceived : for many 
shall come in my name, saying, 
I am Christ ; and the time draw- 
eth near : go ye not therefore 
after them. 

But when ye shall hear of 
wars and commotions, be not 
terrified : for these things must 
first come to pass ; but the end 
is not by and by. 

Then said he unto them, Na- 
tion shall rise against nation, 
and kingdom against kingdom : 

And great earthquakes shall 
be in divers places, and famines, 
and pestilences ; and fearful 
sights and great signs shall 
there be from heaven. 

But before all these, they 
shall lay their hands on you. 
and persecute you, delivering 
you up to the synagogues, and 
into prisons, being brought be- 
fore kings and rulers for my 
name's sake. 



86 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVr 



1. Consequent upon the rejection of the King, the 
kingdom of heaven, which had been announced by John 
the Baptist (Matt. 3 : 2),2o by Christ (Matt. 4: 17),^^ and 



And it shall turn to you for 
a testimony. 

Settle it therefore in your 
hearts, not to meditate before 
what ye shall answer : 

For I will give you a mouth 
and wisdom, which all your ad- 
versaries shall not be able to 
gainsay nor resist. 

And ye shall be betrayed 
both by parents, and brethren, 
and kinsfolks, and friends ; and 
some of you shall they cause to 
be put to death. 

And ye shall be hated of all 
men for my name's sake. 

But there shall not an hair 
of your head perish. 

In your patience possess ye 
your souls. 

And when ye shall see Jeru- 
salem compassed with armies, 
then know that the desolation 
thereof is nigh. 

Then let them which are in 
Judaea flee to the mountains ; 
and let them which are in the 
midst of it depart out ; and let 
not them that are in the coun- 
tries enter thereinto. 

For these be the days of 
vengeance, that all things which 
are written may be fulfilled. 

But woe unto them that are 
with child, and to them that 
give suck, in those days ! for 
there shall be great distress in 
the land, and wrath upon this 
people. 

And they shall fall by the 
edge of the sword, and shall be 
led away captive into all na- 
tions : and Jerusalem shall be 
trodden down of the Gentiles, 
until the times of the Gentiles 
be fulfilled. 

And there shall be signs in 
the sun, and in the moon, and 
in the stars ; and upon the earth 
distress of nations, with per- 
plexity ; the sea and the waves 
roaring ; 



Men's hearts failing them for 
fear, and for looking after those 
things which are coming on the 
earth : for the powers of heaven 
shall be shaken. 

And then shall they see the 
Son of man coming in a cloud 
with power and great glory. 

And when these things begin 
to come to pass, then look up, 
and lift up your heads ; for your 
redemption draweth nigh. 

And he spake to them a par- 
able ; Behold the fig tree, and 
all the trees ; 

When they now shoot forth, 
ye see and know of your own 
selves that summer is now nigh 
at hand. 

So likewise ye, when ye see 
these things come to pass, know 
ye that the kingdom of God is 
nigh at hand. 

Verily I say unto you. This 
generation shall not pass away, 
till all be fulfilled. 

Heaven and earth shall pass 
away : but my words shall not 
pass away. 

And take heed to yourselves, 
lest at any time your hearts be 
overcharged with surfeiting, and 
drunkenness, and cares of this 
life, and so that day come upon 
you unawares. 

For as a snare shall it come 
on all them that dwell on the 
face of the whole earth. 

Watch ye therefore, and pray 
always, that ye may be account- 
ed worthy to escape all these 
things that shall come to pass, 
and to stand before the Son of 
man. — Luke 21:5-36. 

^^ And saying, Repent ye : for 
the kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. — Matt. 3 : 2. 

" From that time Jesus began 
to preach, and to say. Repent : 
for the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand. — Matt. 4 : 17. 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 87 

by the twelve (Matt. 10 1?),^^ as ''at hand/' enters the 
period during which certain ''mysteries" of the kingdom 
of heaven are to be fulfilled. These are described in 
seven parables gathered into Matthew 13. A ''mystery'' 
in Scripture is a divine purpose hitherto hidden, but now 
revealed. 

The seven parables of Matthew 13, called by our Lord 
"mysteries of the kingdom of heaven," taken together, 
describe the result of the presence of the Gospel in the 
world during the present age, that is the time of seed 
sowing w^hich began with our Lord's personal ministry, 
and ends with the "harvest" (Matt. 13 : 40-43) .^^ Briefly, 
that result is the mingling of tares and wheat, good fish 
and bad, children of the kingdom and children of the 
evil one, in the sphere of Christian profession. It is that 
which we have been calling "Christendom." True "chil- 
dren of the kingdom" are there, but mingled with them, 
and so closely resembling them that the "servants" cannot 
be trusted to distinguish them, are mere professors. So 
great is the danger to souls involved in mere profession 
that our Lord's teaching now abounds in solemn warn- 
ings (Matt. 7:22; 20:16; 21:28-31; 23:13-38).2^ 

" And as ye go, preach, say- So the last shall be first, and 

ing, The kingdom of heaven is the first last : for many be called, 

at hand. — Matt. lo : 7. but few chosen. — Matt. 20 : 16. 

^ As therefore the tares are But what think ye? A cer- 

gathered and burned in the fire, tain man had two sons ; and he 

so shall it be in the end of this came to the first, and said. Son, 

world. go work to-day in my vineyard. 

The Son of man shall send He answered and said, I will 

forth his angels, and they shall not : but afterward he repented, 

gather out of his kingdom all and v/ent. 

things that offend, and them And he came to the second, 

which do iniquity ; and said likewise. And he an- 

And shall cast them into a swered and said, I go, sir : and 

furnace of fire : there shall be went not. 

wailing and gnashing of teeth. Whether of them twain did 

Then shall the righteous shine the will of his father ? They 

forth as the sun in the king- say unto him. The first. Jesus 

dom of their Father. Who hath saith unto them, Verily I say 

ears to hear, let him hear. — unto you, That the publicans 

Matt. 13 : 40-43. ^ and the harlots go into the king- 

^ Many will say to me in that dom of God before you. — Matt. 

day, Lord, Lord, have we not 21 : 28-31. 

prophesied in thy name ? and But woe unto you, scribes and 

in thy name have cast out dev- Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye 

ils? and in thy name done many shut up the kingdom of heaven 

wonderful works? — Matt. 7:22. against men: for ye neither go 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



2. The Lord predicted His own death at the hands of 
wicked men, and His resurrection after three days (Matt. 
12 : 38-40 ; 17 : 22, 23 ; 20 : 17-19) P 

3. The Lord predicted judgment upon persons (Matt. 
25:46)-^; cities (Matt. 11:22-24; 23:37-39; Luke 21: 
20-24)^'; and nations (Matt. 25:31-46).^^ 

again. And they were exceed- 
ing sorry. — Matt. 17 : 22, 23. 

And Jesus going up to Jeru- 
salem took the twelve disciples 
apart in the way, and said unto 
them, 

Behold, we go up to Jerusa- 
lem ; and the Son of man shall 
be betrayed unto the chief 
priests and unto the scribes, and 
they shall condemn him to 
death, 

And shall deliver him to the 
Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, 
and to crucify him : and the 
third day he shall rise again. — 
Matt. 20 : 17-19. 

** And these shall go away 
into everlasting punishment : 
but the righteous into life eter- 
nal. — Matt. 25 : 46. 

-' But I say unto you, It shall 
be more tolerable for Tyre and 
Sidon at the day of judgment 
than for you. 

And thou, Capernaum, which 
art exalted unto heaven, shalt 
be brought down to hell : for if 
the mighty works, which have 
been done in thee, had been 
done in Sodom, it would have 
remained until this day. 

But I say unto you, That it 
shall be more tolerable for the 
land of Sodom in the day of 
judgment, than for thee. — Matt. 
II : 22-24. 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou 
that killest the prophets, and 
stonest them which are sent un- 
to thee, how often would I have 
gathered thy children together, 
even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, and 
ye would not ! 

Behold, your house is left 
unto you desolate. 

For I say unto yo^i. Ye shall 



in yourselves, neither suffer ye 
them that are entering to go in. 

Woe unto you, scribes and 
Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye 
devour widows* houses, and for 
a pretence make long prayer : 
therefore ye shall receive the 
greater damnation. 

Woe unto you, scribes and 
Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye 
compass sea and land to make 
one proselyte, and when he is 
made, ye make him twofold 
more the child of hell than your- 
selves. . . . 

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou 
that killest the prophets, and 
stonest them which are sent un- 
to thee, how often would I have 
gathered thy children together, 
even as a hen gathereth her 
chickens under her wings, and 
ye would not ! 

Behold, your house is left un- 
to you desolate. — Matt. 23: 
13-38. 

^'-^ Then certain of the scribes 
and of the Pharisees answered, 
saying. Master, we would see a 
sign from thee. 

But he answered and said 
unto them. An evil and adul- 
terous generation seeketh after 
a sign : and there shall no sign 
be given to it, but the sign of 
the prophet Jonas : 

For as Jonas was three days 
and three nights in the whale's 
belly ; so shall the Son of man 
be three days and three nights 
in the heart of the earth. — Matt. 
12: 38-40. 

And while they abode in Gal- 
ilee, Jesus said unto them. The 
Son of man shall be betrayed 
into the hands of men : 

And they shall kill him, and 
the third day he shall be raised 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF lESUS CHRIST 89 

4. The Lord predicted the church (Matt. 16: 13-18)^® 
as being yet in the future : ''I will build my church/' 



not see me henceforth, till ye 
shall say, Blessed is he that 
cometh in the name of the Lord. 
— Matt. 23 : 37-39- 

And when ye shall see Jeru- 
salem compassed with armies, 
then know that the desolation 
thereof is nigh. 

Then let them which are in 
Judaea flee to the mountains ; 
and let them which are in the 
midst of it depart out ; and let 
not them that are in the coun- 
tries enter thereinto. 

For these be the days of 
vengeance, that all things which 
are written may be fulfilled. 

But woe unto them that are 
with child, and to them that give 
suck, in those days ! for there 
shall be great distress in the 
land, and wrath upon this peo- 
ple. 

And they shall fall by the 
edge of the sword, and shall be 
led away captive into all na- 
tions : and Jerusalem shall be 
trodden down of the Gentiles, 
until the times of the Gentiles 
be fulfilled. — Luke 21 : 20-24. 

^^ When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall 
he sit upon the throne of his 
glory : 

And before him shall be gath- 
ered all nations : and he shall 
separate them one from another, 
as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
from the goats : 

And he shall set the sheep on 
his right hand, but the goats on 
the left. 

Then shall the King say unto 
them on his right hand. Come, 
ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the 
world : 

For I was an hungred, and 
ye gave me meat : I was thirsty, 
and ye gave me drink : I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in : 



Naked, and ye clothed me : I 
was sick, and ye visited me : I 
was in prison, and ye came 
unto me. 

Then shall the righteous an- 
swer him, saying. Lord, when 
saw we thee an hungred, and 
fed theef or thirsty, and gave 
thee drink ? 

When saw we thee a stran- 
ger, and took thee in? or naked, 
and clothed theef 

Or when saw we thee sick, 
or in prison, and came unto 
thee? 

And the King shall answer 
and say unto them. Verily I say 
unto you. Inasmuch as ye have 
done it unto one of the least of 
these my brethren, ye have done 
it unto me. 

Then shall he say also unto 
them on the left hand, Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the 
devil and his angels : 

For I was an hungred, and 
ye gave me no meat : I was 
thirsty, and ye gave me no 
drink : 

I was a stranger, and ye took 
me not in : naked, and ye clothed 
me not : sick, and in prison, and 
ye visited me not. 

Then shall they also answer 
him, saying. Lord, when saw we 
thee an hungred, or athirst, or 
a stranger, or naked, or sick, 
or in prison, and did not min- 
ister unto thee? 

Then shall he answer them, 
saying, Verily I say unto you. 
Inasmuch as ye did it not to 
one of the least of these, ye 
did it not to me. 

And these shall go away into 
everlasting punishment : but the 
righteous into life eternal. — 
Matt. 25 : 31-46. 

^^ When Jesus came into the 
coasts of Csrsarea Philippi, he 
asked his disciples, saying, 
Whom do m.en saj' that I the 
Son of m.an am ? 



90 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



Only once more, and that in respect of discipline, does 
Christ refer to this new purpose. 

He uses a word for this new thing, ecclesia=''t\\3.t 
which is called out,'' which, in itself, may be applied to 
any called out assembly. It is used of Israel in the 
wilderness (Acts 7:38),^^ and also of the tumultuous 
town meeting in Ephesus (Acts 19:32, translated ''as- 
sembly" ).^^ But our Lord went no farther than the 
announcement of a purpose. All else concerning this 
new thing was another ''mystery hid in God'' and re- 
vealed through the apostle Paul (Eph. 3: 1-11).^^ 

5. Jesus Christ predicted the course and end of this 
age. As to the latter His testimony w^as clear and uni- 
form, the age ends in catastrophe. To illustrate this our 
Lord goes back to the two catastrophic judgments of 
the flood, and of the destruction of the cities of the 
plain (Luke 17 : 26-37).^^ 



And they said, Some say that 
thou art John the Baptist: some, 
Elias ; and others, Jeremias, or 
one of the prophets. 

He saith unto them, But whom 
say ye that I am ? 

And Simon Peter answered 
and said, Thou art the Christ, 
the Son of the living God. 

And Jesus answered and said 
unto him, Blessed art thou, Si- 
mon Bar-jona: for flesh and 
blood hath not revealed it unto 
thee, but my Father which is 
in heaven. 

And I say also unto thee. 
That thou art Peter, and upon 
this rock I will build my church ; 
and the gates of hell shall not 
prevail against it. — Matt. i6: 
13-18. 

^^ This is he, that was in the 
church in the wilderness with 
the angel which spake to him 
in the thount Sina, and with 
our fathers : who received the 
lively oracles to give unto us. — 
Acts 7 : 38. 

'^^ Some therefore cried one 
thing, and some another: for 
the assembly was confused ; and 
the more part knew not where- 
fore they were come together. — 
/^rf.v TQ : 32. 



^" See footnote on page 78 of 
this chapter for the Scripture. 

^" And as it was in the dayr. 
of Noe, so shall it be also in 
the days of the Son of man. 

They did eat, they drank, they 
married wives, they were given 
in marriage, until the day that 
Noe entered into the ark, and 
the flood came, and destroyed 
them all. 

Likewise also as it was in the 
days of Lot ; they did eat, they 
drank, they bought, they sold, 
they planted, they builded ; 

But the same day that Lot 
v/ent out of Sodom it rained fire 
and brimstone from heaven, and 
destroyed them all. 

Even thus shall it be in the 
day when the Son of man is 
revealed. 

In that day, he which shall 
be upon the housetop, and his 
stuff in the house, let him not 
come down to take it away : and 
he that is in the field, let him 
likewise not return back. 

Remember Lot's wife. 

Whosoever shall seek to save 
his life shall lose it : and whoso- 
ever shall lose his life shall pre- 
serve it. 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 91 



In the great Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24: 35; Luke 21 : 
5-36)^^ our Lord enters into detail, especially with ref- 
erence to the ruin and catastrophe of the end time. The 
question of the disciples which drew out the prophecy, 
the circumstances and places which environed our Lord's 
answer, and the form of the answer all combine to mark 
the discourse as a part of Christ's ministry to Israel as 
''a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to 
confirm the promises made unto the fathers/' The whole 
atmosphere of the discourse is Jewish. 

It is obvious that a confirmation of the promises to 
the fathers concerning the establishment of the kingdom 
according to the Davidic Covenant (2 Sam. 7:4-16),^^ 
confirmed by the oath of Jehovah (Psa. 89: 3-6, 20-37),^« 
and by the angel Gabriel (Luke 1 : 32, 33),^''^ was neces- 
sary, for Christ had announced His approaching death. 
He was going back to heaven without having regathered 
dispersed Israel, and without re-establishing the theocracy 
over Israel. It must be borne in mind that the disciples 
gathered by our Lord during His earth-ministry were 



I tell you, in that night there 
shall be two men in one bed ; 
the one shall be taken, and the 
other shall be left. 

Two women shall be grinding 
together ; the one shall be taken, 
and the other left. 

Two men shall be in the field ; 
the one shall be taken, and the 
other left. 

And they answered and said 
unto him, Where, Lord? And 
he said unto them, Wheresoever 
the body is, thither will the 
eagles be gathered together. — 
Luke 17 : 26-37. 

^ See footnote on page 85 of 
this chapter for the Scripture. 

^^ . .Moreover I will appoint 
a place for my people Israel, and 
will plant them, that they may 
dwell in a place of their own, 
and move no more ; neither shall 
the children of wickedness af- 
flict them any more, as before- 
time. . . . 

And when thy days be ful- 
filled, and thou shalt sleep with 



thy fathers, I will set up thy 
seed after thee, which shall pro- 
ceed out of thy bowels, and I 
will establish his kingdom. 

He shall build an house for 
my name, and I will stablish the 
throne of his kingdom for 
ever. ... 

And thine house and thy king- 
dom shall be established for ever 
before thee : thy throne shall be 
established for ever. — 2 Sam. 
7: 4-16. 

^® I have made a covenant 
v/ith my chosen, I have sworn 
unto David my servant. 

Thy seed will I establish for 
ever, and build up thy throne to 
all generations. Selah. . . . — 
Psahn 89 : 3-6, 20-37. 

^^ He shall be great, and shall 
be called the Son of the High- 
est : and the Lord God shall give 
unto him the throne of his 
father David : 

And he shall reign over the 
house of Jacob for ever ; and of 
his kingdom there shall be no 
end. — Luke i : 32, 33. 



92 



JVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



Jews who had received Him as the Messiah : ''Thou art 
the Christ, the Son of the living God'' had been Peter's 
confession of faith approved by the Master (Matt. 16: 
16).^^ That He should go through death and resurrec- 
tion back to the Father leaving that tremendous body of 
promises unfulfilled was staggering enough in itself; 
that He should leave it unconfirmed, unrenewed, would 
have been the death of Jewish faith in Him. 

Leaving the temple for the last time, and predicting 
its destruction, He went to the mount of Olives. As the 
temple stood for the past of Israel, so the mount of 
Olives stood for the nation's future. For Zechariah in 
his vision of the second coming of Messiah and the 
establishment of the kingdom (Zech. 12, 13, 14) had said, 
''And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of 
Olives. . . . And the Lord shall be king over all the 
earth in that day" (Zech. 14: 4-21).^^ The very localities 
confirm the Jewish interpretation of the Discourse, if 
such confirmation were required where all is so evidently 
Jewish (Matt. 24:15-31).^^ 



^And Simon Peter answered 
and said, Thou art the Christ, 
the Son of the living God. — 
Matt. i6: i6. 

^®And his feet shall stand in 
that day upon the mount of 
Olives, which is before Jerusa- 
lem on the east, and the mount 
of Olives shall cleave in the 
midst thereof toward the east 
and toward the west, and there 
shall he a very great valley ; 
and half of the mountain shall 
remove toward the north, and 
half of it toward the south. 

And ye shall flee to the val- 
ley of the mountains ; for the 
valley of the mountains shall 
reach unto Azal : yea, ye shall 
flee, like as ye fled from be- 
fore the earthquake in the days 
of Uzziah king of Judah ; and 
the Lord my God shall come, 
and all the saints with thee. . . . 

And the Lord shall be king 
over all the earth : in that day 
shall there be one Lord, and his 
name one. . . . — Zech. 14:4-21. 



*^ When ye therefore shall 
see the abomination of desola- 
tion, spoken of by Daniel the 
prophet, stand in the holy place, 
(whoso readeth, let him under- 
stand :) 

Then let them which be in 
Judaea flee into the mountains : 

Let him which is on the 
housetop not come down to take 
any thing out of his house ; 

Neither let him which is in 
the field return back to take his 
clothes. 

And woe unto them that are 
with child, and to them that 
give suck in those days ! 

But pray ye that your flight 
be not in the winter, neither on 
the sabbath day : 

For then shall be great tribu- 
lation, such as was not since the 
beginning of the world to this 
time, no, nor ever shall be. 

And except those days should 
be shortened, there should no 
flesh be saved ; but for the elect's 
sake those days shall be short- 
ened. 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 93 

Briefly, Jesus said that the age should be one of wars, 
famines, pestilences, and it should end in the reign of 
the beast, the abomination predicted by Daniel the prophet, 
and in the great tribulation. But immediately after the 
great tribulation He, the Lord, would return in power 
and great glory and then would He sit upon the throne 
of His glory. Then the dispersed elect nation should 
be regathered. His Jewish disciples, who had been 
promised judgships over the twelve tribes (Matt. 
19: 27, 28)^^ in the kingdom-time had not been deceived ; 
all should be fulfilled (compare Acts 15: 14-17).'*^ 

But these very Jewish disciples were to have new rela- 
tionships, to Himself and to humanity, in quite another 
and different body of believers, to whom He had referred 



Then if any man shall say 
unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or 
there ; believe it not. 

For there shall arise false 
Christs, and false prophets, and 
shall shew great signs and won- 
ders ; insomuch that, if it were 
possible, they shall deceive the 
very elect. 

Behold, I have told you be- 
fore. 

Wherefore if they shall say 
unto you, Behold, he is in the 
desert ; go not forth : behold, he 
is in the secret chambers ; be- 
lieve if not. 

For as the lightning cometh 
out of the east, and shineth even 
unto the west ; so shall also the 
coming of the Son of man be. 

For wheresoever the carcase 
is, there will the eagles be gath- 
ered together. 

Immediately after the tribu- 
lation of those days shall the 
sun be darkened, and the moon 
shall not give her light, and the 
stars shall fall from heaven, and 
the powers of the heavens shall 
be shaken : 

^ And then shall appear the 
sign of the Son of man in heav- 
en ; and then shall all the 
tribes of the earth mourn, and 
they shall see the Son of man 
coming in the clouds of heaven 
with power and great glory. 



And he shall send his angels 
with a great sound of a trum- 
pet, and they shall gather to- 
gether his elect from the four 
winds, from one end of heaven 
to the other. — Matt. 24 : IS'S^- 

^ Then answered Peter and 
said unto him, Behold, we have 
forsaken all, and followed thee ; 
what shall we have therefore? 

And Jesus said unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, That ye 
which have followed me, in the 
regeneration when the Son of 
man shall sit in the throne of 
his glory, ye also shall sit upon 
twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel — Matt. 
19 : 27, 28. 

*^ Simeon hath declared how 
God at the first did visit the 
Gentiles, to take out of them a 
people for his name. 

And to this agree the words of 
the prophets ; as it is written. 

After this I will return, and 
will build again the tabernacle 
of David, which is fallen down ; 
and I will build again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up : 

That the residue of men 
might seek after the Lord, and 
all the Gentiles, upon whom my 
name is called, saith the Lord, 
who doeth all these things. — 
Acts 15 : 14-17 ' 



94 



IVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVr 



as ''my church/' In the future kingdom the Twelve are 
to be judges over the restored tribes of Israel (Matt. 
19: 27, 28)^^: In the Church they are foundation stones, 
Christ Himself being- the chief corner stone (Eph. 2: 20; 
1 Pet. 2:4-7).^^ The time had not come to unveil that 
mystery. The cross must be endured and redemption 
accomplished before the new dispensation of grace could 
come in. Nay, more, the Holy Spirit must come to inaug- 
urate that dispensation, to unite the redeemed into one 
body, and to explain the new order. All this was near, 
but belonged to the ''many things'' which Jesus would 
fain have said, only the disciples "could not bear" them 
yet (John 16:12, 13).^^ 

But He could and would lay the foundation of it all. 

Two days after uttering the great Olivet Discourse, 
confirming the promises made to the fathers concerning 
the kingdom of heaven as to be duly fulfilled when He 
should return in glory (Matt. 25:31; comp. Acts 2:25- 
36; 15: 14-17),^^ the Lord again met His disciples. But 



** Then answered Peter and 
said unto him, Behold, we have 
forsaken all, and followed thee ; 
what shall we have therefore? 

And Jesus said unto them, 
Verily I say unto you, That ye 
which have followed me, in the 
regeneration when the Son of 
man shall sit in the throne of 
his glory, ye also shall sit upon 
twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Israel. — Matt. 
ig : 27, 28. 

** And are built upon the foun- 
dation of the apostles and proph- 
ets, Jesus Christ himself being 
the chief corner stone. — Eph. 
2 : 20. 

To whom coming, as unto a 
living stone, disallowed indeed 
of men, but chosen of God, and 
precious, 

Ye also, as lively stones, are 
built up a spiritual house, an 
holy priesthood, to offer up spir- 
itual sacrifices, acceptable to 
God by Jesus Christ. 

Wherefore also it is contained 
in the scripture, Behold, I lay 



in Sion a chief corner stone, 
elect, precious : and he that be- 
lieveth on him shall not be con- 
founded. 

Unto you therefore which be- 
lieve he is precious ; but unto 
them which be disobedient, the 
stone which the builders disal- 
lowed, the same is made the 
head of the corner. — i Pet. 2: 

4-7: 

^ I have yet many things to 
say unto you, but ye cannot bear 
them now. 

Howbeit when he, the Spirit 
of truth, is come, he will guide 
you into all truth : for he shall 
not speak of himself ; but what- 
soever he shall hear, that shall 
he speak : and he will shew you 
things to come. — John 16 : 12, 

*^When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall 
he sit upon the throne of his 
glory. — Matt. 23:31. 

For David speaketh concern- 
ing him, I foresaw the Lord 
always before my face, for he is 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 95 



not now on Jewish ground, nor in the midst of Jewish 
earthly things, as the temple, or on the mount of Olives. 
Gathering them in ''an upper chamber,'' as it were away 
from earth. He ate with them the Passover ; the Jewish 
feast which was emphatically associated, typically, with 
His own sacrifice as ''the Lamb of God'' (John 1:36; 
1 Cor. 5:7),^'' and with the separation of a redeemed 
people from the scene about them, unto a pilgrim path- 
wav to a promised inheritance (Exod. 12: 12, 13; 11:7; 
12:11, 41, 42).^« 



on my right hand, that I should 
not be moved : 

Therefore did my heart re- 
joice, and my tongue was glad; 
moreover also my flesh shall 
rest in hope : 

Because thou wilt not leave 
my soul in hell, neither wilt thou 
suffer thine Holy One to see 
corruption. 

Thou hast made known to me 
the ways of life ; thou shalt 
make me full of joy with thy 
countenance. 

Men and brethren, let me 
freely speak unto you of the pa- 
triarch David, that he is both 
dead and buried, and his sepul- 
chre is with us unto this day. 

Therefore being a prophet, 
and knowing that God had sworn 
with an oath to him, that of the 
fruit of his loins, according to 
the flesh, he would raise up 
Christ to sit on his throne ; 

He seeing this before spake 
of the resurrection of Christ, 
that his soul was not left in hell, 
neither his flesh did see cor- 
ruption. 

This Jesus hath God raised 
up, whereof we all are wit- 
nesses. 

Therefore being by the right 
hand of God exalted, and hav- 
ing received of the Father the 
promise of the Holy Ghost, he 
hath shed forth this, which ye 
now see and hear. 

For David is not ascended 
into the heavens : but he saith 
himself, The Lord said unto my 
Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 



Until I make thy foes thy 
footstool. 

Therefore let all the house of 
Israel know assuredly, that God 
hath made that same Jesus, 
whom ye have crucified, both 
Lord and Christ. — Acts 2:25-36. 

Simeon hath declared how God 
at the first did visit the Gentiles, 
to take out of them a people for 
his name. 

And to this agree the words 
of the prophets; as it is writ- 
ten. 

After this I will return, and 
will build again the tabernacle 
of David, which is fallen down ; 
and I will build again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up : 

That the residue of men 
might seek after the Lord, and 
all the Gentiles, upon whom my 
name is called, saith the Lord, 
who doeth all these things. — 
Acts 15 : 14-17- 

*^ And looking upon Jesus as 
he walked, he saith. Behold the 
Lamb of God! — John 1:36. 

Purge out therefore the old 
leaven, that ye may be a new 
lump, as ye are unleavened. For 
even Christ our passover is sac- 
rificed for us. — I Cor. 5 ; 7, 

*^ For I will pass through the 
land of Egypt this night, and 
will smite all the firstborn in the 
land of Egypt, both man and 
beast ; and against all the gods 
of Egypt I will execute judg- 
ment : I am the Lord. 

And the blood shall be to you 
for a token upon the houses 
where ye are : and when I see 



96 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

The Passover supper finished, our Lord performed 
an act of singular beauty and significance. Taking the 
Passover bread and wine He ofave them to His disciples 
as memorials of His own sacrifice; memorials of a 
finished redemption. And, in thus doing, He placed 
Himself and them morally on this side of the cross. 
''Take, eat; this is my body." ''This is my blood of 
the new covenant'' (Heb. 8: 10-13). Out of the Pass- 
over which started Israel upon a pilgrim pathway, He 
fashioned the feast of the church which also is a pilgrim 
company : ''strangers and pilgrims." In all that wonder- 
ful discourse in the upper chamber, as also in the high 
priestly prayer (John 14:1 to 17:26), there is not 
one distinctively Jewish note. He makes it clear that 
the end of the pathway of the new body, the church, 
is not the kingdom on the earth, over restored and con- 
verted Israel, and over the nations of the Gentiles, but 
to be received unto Himself away from the earth (John 
14:3; 1 Thess. 4: 14-16).^^ These men will, indeed, re- 
turn with Him in glory to sit with Him on their twelve 
thrones; but meantime He is going away to prepare a 
"place" for the eternal home of the new pilgrim host 

the blood, I will pass over you, ing them out of the land of 

and the plague shall not be upon Egypt : this is that night of the 

you to destroy you, when I smite Lord to be observed of all the 

the land of Egypt. — Exod. 12: children of Israel in their gen- 

12, IS. erations. — Exod. 12:41, 42. 

But against any of the chil- *^ And if I go and prepare a 

dren of Israel shall not a dog place for you, I will come again, 

move his tongue, against man or and receive you unto myself; 

beast : that ye may know how that where I am, there ye may be 

that the Lord doth put a differ- also. — John 14:3. 

ence between the Egyptians and For if we believe that Jesus 

Israel. — Exod. 11:7. died and rose again, even so 

And thus shall ye eat it ; them also which sleep in Jesus 

with your loins girded ; your will God bring with him. 

shoes on your feet, and your For this we say unto you by 

staff in your hand ; and ye shall the word of the Lord, that we 

eat it in haste : it is the Lord's which are alive and remain unto 

passover. — Exod. 12: 11. the coming of the Lord shall 

And it came to pass at the not prevent them which are 

end of the four hundred and asleep. 

thirty years, even the selfsame For the Lord himself shall de- 
day it came to pass, that all the scend from heaven with a shout, 
hosts of the Lord went out from with the voice of the archangel, 
the land of Egypt. and with the trump of God : and 

It is a night to be much ob- the dead in Christ shall rise first, 

served unto the Lord for bring- — / Thess. 4: 14-16. 



THE PROPHETIC MINISTRY OF JESUS CHRIST 97 

And then comes the new promise, of which in all 
Scripture before there had been no hint or intimation : 

''And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come 
again, and receive you unto myself ; that where I am, 
there ye may be also'' (John 14: 1-3). 

A new promise, for a new body of believers, without 
a sign, without a time note, and unrelated to other pro- 
phetic events. 

And this promise, taken up by the pen of inspiration 
after our Lord's departure and the coming of the Holy 
Spirit, becomes the ''blessed hope" of the pilgrim church. 



VII. THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE OF THE ACTS 



THE Lord Jesus went to the Cross after having 
reaffirmed, in the great OHvet Discourse, the old 
promise to the fathers of Israel of a Messiah who 
should truly sit upon the throne of David, accord- 
ing to the covenant confirmed by the oath of Jehovah 
and renewed through the angel Gabriel (2 Sam. 7: 1-17; 
Psa. 89:^3, 4, 20-39; Luke 1:30-33; Matt. 24:29-31, 
37-51 ; 25 : 31)^ ; and after giving to the church so soon 
to be formed a wholly new promise of a coming which 
would not, like the coming to establish His kingdom, 



\ . . Now therefore so shalt 
thou say unto my servant David, 
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, I 
took thee from the sheepcote, 
from following the sheep, to be 
ruler over my people, over Is- 
rael: 

And I was with thee whither- 
soever thou wentest, and have 
cut off all thine enemies out of 
thy sight, and have made thee a 
great name, like unto the name 
of the great men that are in 
the earth. 

Moreover I will appoint a 
place for my people Israel, and 
will plant them, that they may 
dwell in a place of their own, 
and move no more ; neither 
shall the children of wicked- 
ness afflict them any more, as 
beforetime, 

And as since the time that I 
commanded judges to he over 
my people Israel, and have 
caused thee to rest from all thine 
enemies. Also the Lord telleth 
thee that he will make thee an 
house. 

And when thy days be ful- 
filled, and thou shalt sleep with 
thy fathers, I will set up thy 



seed after thee, which shall pro- 
ceed out of thy bowels, and I 
will establish his kingdom. 

He shall build an house for 
my name, and I will stablish the 
throne of his kingdom for ever. 

I will be his father, and he 
shall be my son. If he commit 
iniquity, I will chasten him with 
the rod of men, and w4th the 
stripes of the children of men : 

But my mercy shall not de- 
part away from him, as I took 
it from Saul, whom I put away 
before thee. 

And thine house and thy king- 
dom shall be established for ever 
before thee : thy throne shall 
be established for ever. . . . — 
2 Sam. 7 : 1-17. 

I have made a covenant with 
my chosen, I have sworn unto 
David my servant. 

Thy seed will I establish for 
ever, and build up thy throne to 
all generations. Selah. — Psalm 
89:3, 4- 

I have found David my serv- 
ant ; with my holy oil have I 
anointed him : . . . 

Also I will make him my first 
born, higher than the kings of 
the earth. 



99 



100 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



My mercy will I keep for him 
for evermore, and my covenant 
shall stand fast with him. 

His seed also will I make to 
endure for ever, and his throne 
as the days of heaven. . . . 

Once have I sworn by my 
holiness that I will not lie unto 
David. 

His seed shall endure for ever, 
and his throne as the sun before 
me. 

It shall be established for 
ever as the moon, and as a faith- 
ful witness in heaven. Selah. 
. . . — Psalm 8q : 20-39. 

And the angel said unto her, 
Fear not, Mary : for thou hast 
found favour with God. 

And, behold, thou shalt con- 
ceive in thy womb, and bring 
forth a son, and shalt call his 
name JESUS. 

He shall be great, and shall 
be called the Son of the High- 
est : and the Lord God shall give 
unto him the throne of his 
father David. 

And he shall reign over the 
house of Jacob for ever ; and of 
his kingdom there shall be no 
end. — Luke i : 30-33- 

Immediately after the tribu- 
lation of those days shall the 
sun be darkened, and the moon 
shall not give her light, and the 
stars shall fall from heaven, and 
the powers of the heavens shall 
be shaken : 

And then shall appear the 
sign of the Son of man in heav- 
en : and then shall all the tribes 
of the earth mourn, and they 
shall see the Son of man com- 
ing in the clouds of heaven with 
power and great glory. 

And he shall send his angels 
with a great sound of a trum- 
pet, and they shall gather to- 
gether his elect from the four 
winds, from one end of heaven 
to the other. — Matt. 24 : 29-31. 

But as the days of Noe zvere, 
so shall also the coming of the 
Son of man be. 

For as in the days that were 
before the flood they were eat- 
ing and drinking, marrying, and 



giving in marriage, until the 
day that Noe entered into the 
ark, 

And knew not until the flood 
came, and took them all away ; 
so shall also the coming of the 
Son of man be. 

Then shall two be in the field ; 
the one shall be taken, and the 
other left. 

Two women shall be grind- 
ing at the mill ; the one shall 
be taken, and the other left. 

Watch therefore : for ye know 
not what hour your Lord doth 
come. 

But know this, that if the 
goodman of the house had 
known in what watch the thief 
would come, he would have 
watched, and would not have 
suffered his house to be broken 
up. 

Therefore be ye also ready : 
for in such an hour as ye think 
not the Son of man cometh. 

Who then is a faithful and 
wise servant, whom his lord 
hath made ruler over his house- 
hold, to give them meat in due 
season ? 

Blessed is that servant, whom 
his lord when he cometh shall 
find so doing. 

Verily I say unto you. That 
he shall make him ruler over 
all his goods. 

But and if that evil servant 
shall say in his heart, My lord 
delayeth his coming ; 

And shall begin to smite his 
fellowservants, and to eat and 
drink with the drunken ; 

The lord of that servant shall 
come in a day when he looketh 
not for him, and in an hour 
that he is not aware of. 

And shall cut him asunder, 
and appoint him his portion 
with the hypocrites : there shall 
be weeping and gnashing of 
teeth. — Matt. 24 : 37-51. 

And he shall send his angels 
with a great sound of a trump- 
et, and they shall gather togeth- 
er his elect from the four winds, 
from one end of heaven to the 
other. — Matt. 25: 31. 



THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE OF THE ACTS 101 

bring Him to the earth, but only into the air that He 
might receive His church unto Himself. This new prom- 
ise was not connected with the earth, but specifically with 
*'a place" in the heavens which He was going to ''pre- 
pare." 

The resurrection of Jesus after three days and nights 
restored Him to His disciples for forty days. The events 
of those davs, so far as they are recorded, are set forth 
in Matthew' 28; Mark 16; Luke 24, and John 20 and 21. 
The twenty-first chapter of John has a relation backward 
and forward, connecting the discipleship which had been 
on Jewish ground with the new service upon which those 
same men would presently enter as members of His new 
body, the church. 

It is from the Acts of the Apostles that we learn the 
subjects of our Lord's supplementary instructions to His 
disciples during the forty days of His sojourn with them 
until His Ascension. Those instructions concerned the 
doctrine of the kingdom of God, the imminent advent 
of another Divine Person, the Holy Spirit, and the new 
service under the Holy Spirit's power (Acts 1:1-8).^ 
It is evident that precisely those instructions should, at 
just that time, be given to the men about to be entrusted 
with a mission which would very soon take them out of 

* The former treatise have I For John truly baptized with 

made, O Theophilus, of all that water ; but ye shall be baptized 

Jesus began both to do and with the Holy Ghost not many 

teach. ^ , . , , days hence. 

Until the day m which he ^^en they therefore were 

was taken up after that he ^^^^^ together, they asked of 

through the Holy Ghost nad ^^ • ^^^^ ^il^ ^hou at 

given commandments unto the ,,. ' . -^ S^\^^ '„„:*, ^.u^\.:*.^ 

apostles whom he had chosen: f'^ time restore again the king- 

To whom also he shewed ^"""^ l"" J^^^^}^ . .t, 

himself alive after his passion An^d he said unto them, It is 

by many infallible proofs, be- not for you to know the times 

ing seen of them forty days, or the seasons, which the Fath- 

and speaking of the things per- er hath put in his own power, 

taining to the kingdom of God : But ye shall receive power, 

And, being assembled togeth- after that the Holy Ghost is 

er with them, commanded them come upon you : and ye shall 

that they should not depart be witnesses unto me both in 

from Jerusalem, but wait for Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and 

the promise of the Father, in Samaria, and unto the utter- 

which, saith he, ye have heard most part of the earth. — Acts 

of me. ' I : i-S. 



102 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 

Jewish thoughts and limitations and launch them upon 
a world-wide evangelization. 

First of all, they would need to know the wider, larger, 
truth of the kingdom of God. Jews, and having the 
Jewish hope of the kingdom of heaven — a hope just 
fully confirmed by the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24 and 25 ; 
Luke 21), the instructions of the Forty Days would 
remind them that the kingdom of heaven, its earth work 
accomplished, would merge in the universal kingdom of 
God (1 Cor. 15:24-28).^ 

One point, and one only, was left out of these instruc- 
tions of our Lord — the time when the kingdom of heaven 
would begin its work of restoring the earth to the great, 
inclusive, kingdom of God. This omission became, there- 
fore, the subject of a very natural question : ''Wilt thou 
at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?'' It is 
noteworthy, first, that our Lord did not rebuke this 
question ; and, secondly, that His answer left whole and 
entire the Jewish hope: 'It is not for you to know the 
times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his 
own power." 

One great body of truth, about to become of supreme 
importance from the prophetical and dispensational point 
of view — that concerning the church, was not a part of 
the instructions of the Forty Days. The church, apart 
from the prophetic word 'T will build my church'' (Matt. 
16: 18),^ remained a "mystery hid in God" (Eph. 3:9, 
10).^ The unfolding of that mystery was reserved to 

^ Then cometh the end, when And when all things shall be 

he shall have delivered up the subdued unto him, then shall 

kingdom to God, even the Fath- the Son also himself be subject 

er ; when he shall have put down unto him that put all things 

all rule and all authority and under him, that God may be all 

power. in all. — / Cor. 15 : 24-28. 

For he must reign, till he * And I say also unto thee, 

hath put all enemies under his That thou art Peter, and upon 

feet. this rock I will build my church ; 

The last enemy that shall be and the gates of hell shall not 

destroyed is death. prevail against it. — Matt. 16: 18. 

For he hath put all things ^ And to make all men see 

under his feet. But when he what is the fellowship of the 

saith all things are put under mystery, v/hich from the begin- 

him, it is manifest that he is ning of the world hath been 

excepted, which did put all hid in God, who created all 

things under him. things by Jesus Christ : 



THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE OF THE ACTS 103 



the Apostle Paul, to whom also was entrusted the expo- 
sition of the doctrines of grace (Eph. 3: 1-10).^ 

These disciples, rich in preparation of soul through 
three years of close fellowship with the Lord, and now 
enriched in truth through the instruction of the Forty 
Days, must yet wait. One thing they lacked, the filling 
and power of the Holy Spirit, and so supremely essential 
was this enduement for the new ministry that all other 
qualifications must wait for it. What presumption, then, 
for any one following them in the ministry of the grace 
of God to suppose that a smattering of book learning 
will suffice ! The powder of the new service was to be 
the Holy Spirit; the method a witnessing. A witness 
must have first-hand knowledge of that concerning which 
he speaks. Hearsay will not do. 

But the disciples must begin at — or "from'' Jerusalem,. 
"To the Jew first" (Rom. 1: 16; 2:9)^ is the Biblical 
order, but the Jewish ministry of the Apostles as recorded 
in the first nine chapters of The Acts has a still more 
distinctive character. 



To the intent that now unto 
the principalities and powers in 
heavenly places might be known 
by the church the manifold wis- 
dom of God. — Eph. 3 : 9, 10. 

^ For this cause I Paul, the 
prisoner of Jesus Christ for you 
Gentiles, If ye have heard of 
the dispensation of the grace of 
God which is given me to you- 
ward : 

How that by revelation he 
made known unto me the mys- 
tery ; (as I wrote afore in few 
words, 

Whereby, when ye read, ye 
may understand my knowledge 
in the mystery of Christ) 

Which in other ages was not 
made known unto the sons of 
men, as it is now revealed unto 
his holy apostles and prophets 
by the Spirit ; 

That the Gentiles should be 
fellowheirs, and of the same 
body, and partakers of his prom- 
ise in Christ by the gospel : 

Whereof I was made a min- 
ister, according to the gift of 



the grace of God given unto 
me by the effectual working of 
his power. 

Unto me, who am less than 
the least of all saints, is this 
grace given, that I should preach 
among the Gentiles the un- 
searchable riches of Christ ; 

And to make all men see 
what is the fellowship of the 
mystery, which from the begin- 
ning of the world hath been 
hid in God, who created all 
things by Jesus Christ : 

To the intent that now unto 
the principalities and powers in 
heavenly places might be known 
by the church the manifold 
wisdom of God. — Eph. 5 ; i-io. 

' For I am not ashamed of 
the gospel of Christ : for it is 
the power of God unto salva- 
tion to every one that believeth ; 
to the Jew first, and also to the 
Greek. — Rom. i : 16. 

Tribulation and anguish, up- 
on every soul of man that doeth 
evil, of the Jew first, and also 
of the Gentile. — Rom. 2 : g. 



104 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



In Luke 19:12-14^'^ this special ministry is foretold 
in the form of a parable — one of the parables of the 
postponed kingdom. Christ, the ''nobleman" of the par- 
able, goes away to receive the investiture — the formal 
appointment — of a kingdom (Dan. 7:13-18; Rev. 5: 
1-10),^ and is to return. But during His absence the 



» He said therefore, A cer- 
tain nobleman went into a far 
country to receive for himself a 
kingdom, and to return. 

And he called his ten serv- 
ants, and delivered them ten 
pounds, and said unto them, 
Occupy till I come. 

But his citizens hated him, 
and sent a message after him, 
saying. We will not have this 
man to reign over us. — Luke 
ig : 12-14. 

*' I saw in the night visions, 
and, behold, one like the Son of 
man came with the clouds of 
heaven, and came to the An- 
cient of days, and they brought 
him near before him. 

And there was given him do- 
minion, and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, nations, 
and languages, should serve 
him : his dominion is an ever- 
lasting dominion, which shall 
not pass av/ay, and his kingdom 
that which shall not be de- 
stroyed. 

I Daniel was grieved in my 
spirit in the midst of my body, 
and the visions of my head 
troubled me. 

I came near unto one of them 
that stood by, and asked him 
the truth of all this. So he 
told me, and made me know the 
interpretation of the things. 

These great beasts, which are 
four, are four kings, which shall 
arise out of the earth. 

But the saints of the most 
High shall take the kingdom, 
and possess the kingdom for 
ever, even for ever and ever. — 
Dan. 7 .' 13-18. 

And I saw in the right hand 
of him that sat on the throne a 
book written within and on the 
backside, scaled vrith seven seals. 



And I saw a strong angel pro- 
claiming with a loud voice, Who 
is worthy to open the book, 
and to loose the seals thereof? 

And no man in heaven, nor 
in earth, neither under the 
earth, was able to open the book, 
neither to look thereon. 

And I wept much, because 
no man was found worthy to 
open and to read the book, 
neither to look thereon. 

And one of the elders saith 
unto me, Weep not : behold, the 
Lion of the tribe of Juda, the 
Root of David, hath prevailed 
to open the book, and to loose 
the seven seals thereof. 

And I beheld, and, lo, in the 
midst of the throne and of the 
four beasts, and in the midst of 
the elders, stood a Lamb as it 
had been slain, having seven 
horns and seven eyes, which are 
the seven Spirits of God sent 
forth into all the earth. 

And he came and took the 
book out of the right hand of 
him that sat upon the throne. 

And when he had taken the 
book, the four beasts and four 
and twenty elders fell down be- 
fore the Lamb, having every 
one of them harps, and golden 
vials full of odours, which are 
the prayers of saints. 

And they sung a new song, 
saying. Thou art worthy to take 
the book, and to open the seals 
thereof : for thou wast slain, 
and hast redeemed us to God 
by thy blood out of every kin- 
dred, and tongue, and people, 
and nation ; 

And hast made us unto our 
God kings and priests : and we 
shall reign on the earth. — Rev. 
5' I- JO. 



THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE OP THE ACTS 105 

'"citizens" who are to be the subjects of the returning 
King, whom they have already rejected in the days of His 
flesh, send after Him still another message of rejection. 
This sending implies that a new appeal has been made 
to the "citizens" on behalf of the absent King. It is 
precisely that appeal and the story of its rejection which 
is told in the first seven chapters of Acts. 

The message is not the distinctive Gospel message for 
this age, ''Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou 
shalt be saved" (Acts 16: 31), with its strictly individual 
application, but deals with the corporate guilt of the Jews 
in rejecting their Messiah, Jesus, appeals to corporate 
or national repentance, and promises that upon condition 
of such repentance Jesus Christ will return (Acts 3: 
19-21.1^ Revised Version). 

Peter in his first sermon, on the day of Pentecost, 
faces directly the inevitable Jewish objection that Jesus 
could not be the Messiah because He had not fulfilled the 
promises to Israel concerning the kingdom. It was the 
very difficulty which Jesus had answered, so far as His 
own disciples were concerned, in the Olivet Discourse; 
and Peter, addressing the Jewish multitude, gives exactly 
the same solution. . The promises \Vill be fulfilled by the 
risen Christ. If it were true that Israel had been mis- 
taken in expecting a kingdom which, while fully spiritual, 
was to be also visible and material, this was the place 
and time to say so. But neither in this place and time, 
nor in any other, does a single line of inspiration say so. 
On the contrary, the Apostle affirms that David himself, 
being a prophet, foresaw that through a resurrection, 
God, who had confirmed the Davidic Covenant with an 
oath (2 Sam. 7:5-17; Psa. 89:3, 4, 20-37),^^ "would 
raise up Christ to sit on his throne." 



^° Repent ye therefore, and whom the heaven must receive 

turn again, that your sins may until the times of restoration 

be blotted out, that so there o^ all things whereof God spake 

may come seasons of refresh- ^J ^he mouth of his holy propxi-^ 

•«^ ^4-1, r ^t, ets that have been from of old. 

ing from the presence of the _^^^^ 3:19-^1, Revised Ver- 

Lord ; and that he may send sion. 

the Christ who hath been ap- ^i i^or the Scripture text, see 

pointed for you, even Jesus : footnote 1 on pages 99, 100. 



106 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVr 

In the second sermon, that at the Beautiful Gate, Peter 
adds to his former demonstration that Christ in resurrec- 
tion will sit upon the throne of David (comp. Luke 1 : 
30-33),^- the tremendous promise that if Israel will then 
repent the "times of restitution" will begin, and the King 
will again be sent (Acts 3: 19-21).^^ 

It is noteworthy that along with the corporate appeal 
to the nation as such there is, in all this post-pentecostal 
preaching, the ofifer of mercy to the individual : 

"Then said Peter unto them, Repent and be baptized 
every one of you . . . and with many other w^ords did 
he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from 
[literally, 'from among'] this untoward generation" 
(Acts 2:37-41). "Unto you first God, having raised 
up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you, in turning away 
ei'ery one of you from his iniquities" (Acts 3:26). 

But the appeal is to Israel corporately. And, alas ! 
the answer was soon forthcoming. In the command laid 
upon the apostles no longer to preach in that name (Acts 
4: 13-22; 5:28-33),^^ but still more emphatically in the 

^" And the angel said unto her, his holy prophets since the world 

Fear not, Mary: for thou hast began. — Acts 3:19-21. 

found favour with God. ^* Now when they saw the 

And, behold, thou shalt con- boldness of Peter and John, and 

ceive in thy womb, and bring perceived that they were un- 

forth a son, and shalt call his learned and ignorant men, they 

name JESUS. marvelled; and they took knowl- 

He shall be great, and shall edge of them that they had been 

be called the Son of the High- with Jesus. • • • ^ / , 

est: and the Lord God shall ^nd they called them, and 

give unto him the throne of his commanded them not to speak 

father David. ^^ ^^^ ^'^^ teach in the name of 



And he shall reign over the 



Jesus. . . . — Acts 4 : 13-22. 



house of Jacob forever; and ^^y^^^^ ^'^.J'T ""'l '^T^^^I 

of his kingdom there shall be command you that ye should not 

no ^nd.—Luke 1:30-33^ l^^? '"^ l^'^ ''^^?%' i^""^' ^^^' 

13 13 ^ ^i_ r J u hold, ye have filled Jerusalem 

Repent ye therefore, and be ..^i^h your doctrine, and intend 

converted that your sms may ^^ bring this man's blood upon 

be blotted out, when the times us 

of refreshing shall come from ^hen Peter and the other 

the presence of the Lord; apostles answered and said. We 

And he shall send Jesus Christ, ought to obey God rather than 

which before was preached un- men. 

^° y^'^ • The God of our fathers raised 

Whom the heaven must re- up Jesus, whom ye slew and 

ceive until the times of restitu- hanged on a tree. 

tion of all things, which God Him hath God exalted with 

hath spoken by the mouth of all his right hand to be a Prince 



THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE OF THE ACTS 107 

martyrdom of Stephen, the ''citizens" sent after the 
''nobleman'' the message, "We will not have this man 
to reign over us." 

It has been beautifully suggested by F. W. Boyle, of 
San Jose, Costa Rica, that in this great final appeal to 
the Jews we are to find an answer to the cross-prayer 
of our Lord, "Father, forgive them; for they know not 
what they do" (Luke 23:34). He points out the em- 
phasis which Peter puts upon the spiritual unconscious- 
ness of the Jews who were guilty of the blood of Jesus : 
"And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye 
did it, as did also your rulers" (Acts 3: 17). This is 
most helpful. But that very preaching stripped away 
forever the excuse of ignorance. It was a second rejec- 
tion of the Messiah. 

In the summing up by the Apostle James of the result 
of the gathering at Jerusalem which has come to be 
called the first council, and where, certainly, not only 
"the apostles and elders," but also the Holy Spirit were 
present (Acts 15: 28)/^ occurs what has been called, 
"dispensationally the most important passage in the New 
Testament." 

The contention of "certain men which came down from 
Judaea" to Antioch, that circumcision "after the manner 
of Moses" was essential to salvation (Acts 15: 1), a con- 
tention carried on also by "certain of the sect of the 
Pharisees which believed," gave occasion to the gathering 
at Jerusalem, the record of which we have in Acts 15. 
The question submitted to the council, however, went 
beyond the mere rite of circumcision and put in issue 
the whole "law of Moses" (v. 5) as related to the Chris- 
tian church. Was Christianity a ritual religion, or one 
in which the believer, already made righteous through 
faith in a righteousness so perfect that nothing could be 
added, was "not under the law, but under grace"? 

and a Saviour, for to give re- were cut to the heart, and took 

pentance to Israel, and forgive- counsel to slay them. — Acts 5 '■ 

ness of sins. 28-33. 

And we are his witnesses of ^^ For it seemed good to the 

these things ; and so is also the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay 

Holy Ghost, whom God hath upon you no greater burden 

given to them that obey him. than these necessary things. — 

When they heard that, they Acts 15 : 28. 



108 IVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

The decision was for liberty ; and the argument against 
which the legalists could say nothing was that urged by 
Peter — the fact that God, without circumcision or any 
other act in addition to simple faith in Christ, had be- 
stowed the Holy Spirit upon the Gentile converts (vs. 
7-11). It is noteworthy, as against the contention of a 
few in this day that the new liberty was for the Gentiles 
only, while Jewish believers were to go on with cere- 
monialism, that Peter (v. 11) puts Jews upon the same 
ground. 

But back of the legal contention lay still in the minds 
of many Jewish believers the old difficulty of how to 
believe in a Messiah who had gone back to heaven with- 
out having fulfilled the kingdom promises ; and the great 
prophetic passage meets that difficulty precisely as our 
Lord had met it in the Olivet Discourse, and as Peter 
had met it in the Pentecostal sermon — the kingdom was 
postponed, not abandoned, nor ''spiritualized" into some- 
thing bearing no resem^blance to the promises to the 
fathers. But the passage is of exceeding value in that 
it not only reaffirms the Davidic promise, but that it gives 
the relation of this age to the kingdom age which is to 
follow this age. 

''Simeon hath declared [Acts 15:7-11] how God at the 
first [literally, *for the first time'] did visit the Gentiles, 
to take out of them a people for his name. And to this 
agree the words of the prophets ; as it is written [Amos 
9: 11-15 ^^], After this I will return, and will build again 
the tabernacle of David, which is fallen dowm; and I 

^* In that day will I raise up shall drop sweet wine, and all 

the tabernacle of David that is the hills shall melt, 

fallen, and close up the breaches And I will bring again the 

thereof; and I will raise up his captivity of my people of Is- 

ruins, and I will build it as in rael, and they shall build the 

the days of old: waste cities, and inhabit them; 

That they may possess the and they shall plant vineyards, 

remnant of Edom, and of all the and drink the wine thereof ; the}'^ 

heathen, which are called by shall also make gardens, and eat 

my name, saith the Lord that the fruit of them. 

doeth this. And I will plant them upon 

Behold, the days come, saith their land, and they shall no 

the Lord, that the plowman shall more be pulled up out of their 

overtake the reaper, and the land which I have given them, 

treader of grapes him that sow- saith the Lord thy God. — Amos 

eth seed; and the mountains ^:ii-i^. 



THE PROPHETIC MESSAGE OP THE ACTS 109 

will build again the ruins thereof, and I will set it up : 
that the residue of men might seek after the Lord, and 
all the Gentiles, upon whom my name is called, saith the 
Lord, who doeth all these things'' (15: 14-17). 

What Peter began the church has carried on. Wher- 
ever the Gospel has been preached among the Gentiles 
in the power of the Holy Spirit some have believed — 
never, anywhere, all. Jerusalem was not converted, nor 
Rome, nor Antioch, but there a people for His name was 
called out. That is the Divine program for this age. 
When, in the thought and intent of God, that process is 
complete (Rom. 11:25-27),^'^ Jesus Christ will return 
and set up the Messianic kingdom of heaven. And then, 
and never till then, will there be a converted world. The 
earth shall indeed be full of the knowledge of the Lord 
as the waters cover the sea, but the prophet who tells us 
that, tells us also when it shall be: 'Tn that day*' when 
the Branch shall be king, and Israel restored to her 
ancient land (Isa. 11:9-12).^^ 

It is important to note that the prophetic element in 
The Acts concerns the reconciliation of a postponed king- 
dom with the promises made to Israel through the Old 
Testament prophets. The church is not the subject of 
the prophetic testimony of that book. Churches are 

^" For I would not, brethren, stand for an ensign of the peo- 

that ye should be ignorant of pie ; to it shall the Gentiles 

this mystery, lest ye should be seek: and his rest shall be glo- 

wise in your own conceits ; that rious. 

blindness in part is happened to ^nd it shall come to pass in 

Israel, until the fulness of the ^^at day, that the Lord shall 

"" Ant%o^ TlsrV shall be -^ ^^ ^-^ ^^-^ ^^^ — ^ 
saved : as it is written, There 



time to recover the remnant of 
shall come out of Sion the de- ^is people, which shall be left, 



liverer, and shall turn away un- ^^om Assyria, and from Egypt, 

godliness from Jacob: and from Pathros, and from 

For this is my covenant unto Cush, and from Elam, and from 

them, when I shall take away Shinar, and from Hamath, and 

their sins. — Rom. ii : 25-27. from the islands of the sea. 

^® They shall not hurt nor de- And he shall set up an ensign 

stroy in all my holy mountain : for the nations, and shall as- 

for the earth shall be full of semble the outcasts of Israel, 

the knowledge of the Lord, as and gather together the dis- 

the waters cover the sea. persed of Judah from the four 

And in that day there shall corners of the earth. — Isa. ii : 

be a root of Jesse, which shall g-12. 



no WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVr 

everywhere in the book, but the unfolding of the doc- 
trine of the church, as also of her prophetic future, 
awaits the pen of the great Apostle to the Gentiles. His 
conversion, ministry, sufferings — the story of these, fills 
the second and larger part of The Acts. In the Epistles 
and The Revelation prophecy tells the story of the Church. 



VIII. PROPHECY IN THE EPISTLES 

ON THE night of His betrayal, in the upper cham- 
ber discourse, our Lord said : 
'T have yet many things to say unto you, but 
ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, 
the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all 
truth" (John 16:12). 

That this promised revelation would contain a pre- 
dictive element was also announced by our Lord : ''What- 
soever he [the Holy Spirit] shall hear, that shall he 
speak: and he will shew you things to come" (John 
16:13). 

When we turn to the Epistles we see that the prom- 
ised revelation of new truth concerns the new body, the 
church. In the one hundred and fourteen chapters com- 
posing the Acts and the Epistles the kingdom is men- 
tioned but twenty-five times, and always by the larger 
spiritual designation of the kingdom of God; while the 
church is mentioned in the same chapters eighty-nine 
times. In the great Epistle to the Romans the kingdom 
of God is mentioned but once in the sixteen chapters. 
It is the church which fills the scene. 

Our Lord was Himself the first Prophet of the church. 
After His rejection as Israel's king had become manifest, 
Jesus with His disciples departed into Galilee, and there 
uttered the first word of Scripture concerning the church : 
'T will build my church." In their very terms these 
words were prophetic and indicated a purpose to be 
accomplished in the future. They pointed neither to the 
past nor to the present. Christ did not say, 'T have been 
building," or, 'T am building," but ^T will build" (Matt. 
16:18). 

It is most significant that, ''From that time forth 
began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must 
go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders 

111 



112 



IVHAl^ DO THE PROPHETS SAVr 



and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be 
raised again the third day'' (Matt. 16:18, 21). But, 
lest there should be any ground for the conclusion that 
''church" and "kingdom" were synonymous terms, or 
the church be taken as fulfilling the promxise of the 
kingdom, our Lord's prediction was almost immediately 
followed by the kingdom-picture of the transfiguration 
(Matt. 17 : 1-13).^ Our Lord declared it to be a showing 
forth of "the Son of man coming in his kingdom" (Matt. 
16:28).- 

The kingdom elements set forth by the prophets are 
all present in the Transfiguration: (1) the Son of man 
appearing in glory (Matt. 25:31),^ accompanied by two 
classes of glorified saints — those who had passed into 
heaven through death, like Moses (1 Cor. 15:22, 23),^ 



^ And after six days Jesus 
taketh Peter, James, and John 
his brother, and bringeth them 
up into an high mountain apart. 

And was transfigured before 
them : and his face did shine as 
the sun, and his raiment was 
white as the light. 

And, behold, there appeared 
unto them Aloses and Elias talk- 
ing with him. 

Then answered Peter, and 
said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good 
for us to be here : if thou wilt, 
let us make here three taber- 
nacles ; one for thee, and one 
for Moses, and one for Elias. 

While he yet spake, behold, 
a bright cloud overshadowed 
them : and behold a voice out of 
the cloud, which said, This is 
my beloved Son, in whom 1 am 
well pleased ; hear ye him. 

And when the disciples heard 
it, they fell on their face, and 
were sore afraid. 

And Jesus came and touched 
them, and said, Arise, and be 
not afraid. 

And when they had lifted up 
their eyes, they saw no man, 
save Jesus only. 

And as they came down from 
the mountain, Jtsus charged 
them, saying. Tell the vision to 



no man, until the Son of man 
be risen again from the dead. 

And his disciples asked him, 
saying. Why then say the scribes 
that Elias must first come? 

And Jesus answered and said 
unto them, Elias truly shall first 
come, and restore all things. 

But I say unto you. That 
Elias is come already, and they 
knew him not, but have done 
unto him whatsoever they listed. 
Likewise shall also the Son of 
man suffer of them. 

Then the disciples understood 
that he spake tmto them of John 
the Baptist. — Matt, i/ : 1-13. 

^ Verily I say unto you, There 
be some standing here, which 
shall not taste of death, till they 
see the Son of man coming in 
his kingdom. — Matt. 16 : 28. 

^ Wlien the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall 
he sit upon the throne of his 
glory. — Matt. 25 : 51. 

* For as in Adam all die, even 
so in Christ shall all be made 
alive. 

But every man in his own 
order : Christ the firstfruits ; 
afterward they that are Christ's 
at his coming. — / Cor. 13 : 22. 
23- 



PROPHECY IN THE EPISTLES 



113 



and those who had been translated without seeing death, 
like Elijah (1 Cor. 15: 51-53; 1 Thess. 4: 14-17).'^ (2) 
The scene is on the earth, because the kingdom is to be 
set up on the earth (Jer. 23:5; Zech. 9:7-15)/^ (3) 
Men in the flesh will form part of the kingdom as repre- 



^ Behold, I shew you a mys- 
tery ; We shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all be changed. 

In a moment, in the twinkling 
of an eye, at the last trump : 
for the trumpet shall sound, and 
the dead shall be raised in- 
corrupiible, and we shall be 
changed. 

For this corruptible must put 
on incorruption, and this mor- 
tal must put on immortality. — 
I Cor. 15:51-53: 

For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with him. 

For this we say unto you by 
the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive, and remain 
unto the coming of the Lord 
shall not prevent them which 
are asleep. 

For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump 
of God : and the dead in Christ 
shall rise first : 

Then we which are alive and 
remain shall be caught up to- 
gether with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air : 
and so shall we ever be with 
the Lord. — i Thess. 4 : 14-17. 

^ Behold, the days come, saith 
the Lord, that I will raise unto 
David a righteous Branch, and 
a King shall reign and prosper, 
and shall execute judgment and 
justice in the earth. — Jer. 23: 5. 

And I will take away his blood 
out of his mouth, and his abom- 
inations from between his teeth : 
but he that remaineth, even he, 
shall be for our God, and he 
shall be as a governor in Judah, 
and Ekron as a Jebusite. 

And I will encamp about mine 
house because of the army, be- 



cause of him that passeth by, 
and because of him that return- 
eth : and no oppressor shall pass 
through them any more : for 
now have I seen with mine eyes. 

Rejoice greatly, O daughter 
of Zion ; shout, O daughter of 
Jerusalem : behold, thy King 
Cometh unto thee : he is just, 
and having salvation ; lowly, and 
riding upon an ass, and upon a 
colt the foal of an ass. 

And I will cut off the chariot 
from Ephraim, and the horse 
from Jerusalem, and the battle 
bow shall be cut off : and he 
shall speak peace unto the hea- 
then : and his dominion shall 
be from sea even to sea, and 
from the river even to the ends 
of the earth. 

As for thee also, by the blood 
of thy covenant I have sent 
forth thy prisoners out of the 
pit wherein is no water. 

Turn you to the strong hold, 
ye prisoners of hope : even to- 
day do I declare that I will 
render double unto thee ; 

When I have bent Judah for 
me, filled the bow with Ephraim, 
and raised up thy sons, O Zion, 
against thy sons, O Greece, and 
made thee as the sword of a 
mighty man. 

And the Lord shall be seen 
over them, and his arrow shall 
go forth as the lightning : and 
the Lord God shall blow the 
trumpet, and shall go with 
whirlwinds of the south. 

The Lord of hosts shall de- 
fend them ; and they shall de- 
vour, and subdue with sling 
stones ; and they shall drink, 
and make a noise as through 
wine ; and they shall be filled 
like bowls, and as the corners 
of the altar. — Zech. p ; 7-15. 



114 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



sented by Peter, James, and John; and, (4) the mission 
of the kingdom is ministry to the multitudes of earth 
(vs. 14-17). 

But with the announcement of the future purpose, 
''I will build my church," and with the picture-parable 
of the kingdom, now postponed to the coming of the 
king in glory, the church was left by Christ an unex- 
plained ''mystery hid in God'' (Eph. 3: 1-11). "^ 

It is to the Epistles that we look for the unfolding 
of that mystery. Distinctively, the revelation of church 
truth was committed to Paul (Eph. 3: 1-11.)^ Through 
him we learn that the church is the body of Christ, 
formed by the baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12: 12-14)^; 
a body of which Christ is the Head, and all believers, at 
and from Pentecost, are the members (Eph. 1 : 22, 23)^; 
that this body is not an organization, with Christ as pres- 



"^ For this cause I Paul, the 
prisoner of Jesus Christ for you 
Gentiles, 

If ye have heard of the dis- 
pensation of the grace of God 
which is given me to you-ward : 

How by that revelation he 
made known unto me the mys- 
tery ; (as I wrote afore in few 
words, 

Whereby, when ye read, ye 
may understand my knowledge 
in the mystery of Christ) 

Which in other ages was not 
made known unto the sons of 
men, as it is now revealed unto 
his holy apostles and prophets 
by the Spirit ; 

That the Gentiles should be 
fellowheirs, and of the same 
body, and partakers of his prom- 
ise in Christ by the gospel : 

Whereof I was made a min- 
ister, according to the gift of 
the grace of God given unto 
me by the effectual working of 
his power. 

Unto me, who am less than 
the least of all saints, is this 
grace given, that I should preach 
among the Gentiles the un- 
searchable riches of Christ ; 

And to make all men see what 
is the fellowship of the mys- 



tery, which from the beginning 
of the world hath been hid in 
God, who created all things by 
Jesus Christ : 

To the intent that now unto 
the principalities and powers in 
heavenly places might be known 
by the church the manifold wis- 
dom of God. 

According to the eternal pur- 
pose which he purposed in Christ 
Jesus our Lord. — Eph. 3:1-11. 

^ For as the body is one, and 
hath many members, and all the 
members of that one body, be- 
ing many, are one body : so also 
is Christ. 

For by one Spirit are we all 
baptized into one body, whether 
we be Jews or Gentiles, wheth- 
er we be bond or free ; and 
have been all made to drink 
into one Spirit. 

For the body is not one mem- 
ber, but many. — i Cor. 12 : 12- 

14- 

® And hath put all things un- 
der his feet, and gave him to 
he the head over all things to 
the church, 

Which is his body, the ful- 
ness of him that filleth all in 
all. — Eph. 1 : 22, 23. 



PROPHECY IN THE EPISTLES 



115 



ident, or king, but an organism, like the human body, 
the "members" corresponding not to the citizens of a 
repubHc or the subjects of a kingdom, bait to the hands, 
feet, eye, ear, of the human body, united in oneness of 
life (1 Cor. 12:14-21; John 15:1-5; 1 John 5:11, 12)^^ 
to the risen Head in the glory. 

In another relation, as Eve, taken from the body of 
Adam, became '''bone of his bone, flesh of his flesh'' 
through marriage, so the church is the destined bride of 
Christ, "the last Adam" (Gen. 2:21-23; 2 Cor. 11: 1, 2; 
Eph. 5: 28-33). 11 



^° For the body is not one 
member, but many. 

If the foot shall say, Because 
I am not the hand, I am not of 
the body ; is it therefore not of 
the body? 

And if the ear shall say, Be- 
cause I am not the eye, I am 
not of the body ; is it therefore 
not of the body? 

If the whole body were an 
eye, where were the hearing? 
If the whole were hearing, 
where were the smelling? 

Bvit now hath God set the 
members every one of them in 
the body, as it hath pleased 
him. 

And if they were all one mem- 
ber, where were the body ? 

But now are they many mem- 
bers, yet but one body. 

And the eye cannot say unto 
the hand, I have no need of 
thee : nor again the head to the 
feet, I have no need of you. — 
/ Cor, 12 : 14-21. 

I am the true vine, and my 
Father is the husbandman. 

Every branch in me that bear- 
eth not fruit he taketh away : 
and every branch that beareth 
fruit, he purgeth it, that it may 
bring forth more fruit. 

Now ye are clean through the 
word which I have spoken unto 
you. 

Abide in me, and I in you, 
As the branch cannot bear fruit 
of itself, except it abide in the 
vine ; no more can ye, except ye 
abide in me. 



I am the vine, ye are the 
branches : He that abideth in 
me, and I in him, the same 
bringeth forth much fruit : for 
without me ye can do nothing. 
— John 15 : 1-5. 

And this is the record, that 
God hath given to us eternal 
life, and this life is in his Son. 

He that hath the Son hath 
life ; and he that hath not the 
Son of God hath not life. — 
I John 5 : II, 12. 

^^ And the Lord God caused a 
deep sleep to fall upon Adam, 
and he slept : and he took one 
of his ribs, and closed up the 
flesh instead thereof ; 

And the rib, which the Lord 
God had taken from man, made 
he a woman, and brought her 
unto the man. 

And Adam said. This is now 
bone of my bones, and flesh of 
my flesh : she shall be called 
Woman, because she was taken 
out of Man. — Gen. 2 : 21-23. 

Would to God ye could bear 
with me a little in my folly : 
and indeed bear with me. 

For I am jealous over you 
with godly jealousy: for I have 
espoused you to one husband, 
that I may present you as a 
chaste virgin to Christ. — 2 Cor. 
II : I, 2. 

So ought men to love their 
wives as their own bodies. He 
that loveth his wife loveth him- 
self. 

For no man ever yet hated 
his own flesh ; but nourisheth 



116 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

In yet another relation the church ''groweth unto an 
holy temple in the Lord . . . for an habitation of God 
through the Spirit'' (Eph. 2: 21, 22). The first members 
of this body, the church, were the disciples of our Lord, 
gathered out of Israel by His personal ministry. These, 
baptized by the Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2: 
1-4),^- were the first ''members," but, '*the same day there 
were added unto them about three thousand souls." From 
that day to this the growth of the body has gone on, ''the 
Lord adding to them day by day those that were [or are] 
being saved" (Acts 2:47, Revised Version). 

In relation to the world the believers composing the 
church are said by our Lord to be "in," but not "of" it 
(John 17: 11, 16).^^ It should be borne in mind that, 
though believers, alas! too often, fail to manifest this 
holy separation from the world, it is still true that, as 
taken out of the world and given to Christ (John 17:6, 
11, 12, 16),^^ they remain His, and are not to be involved 
in His world-judgments. They may, and often do, lay 
aside for a time the pilgrim scrip and staff (1 Pet. 2: 

and cherisheth it, even as the And they were all filled with 

Lord the church : ^ the Holy Ghost, and began to 

For we are members of his speak with other tongues, as the 

body, of his flesh, and of his Spirit gave them utterance. — 

bones. Acts 2 : 1-4. 

For this cause shall a man ^^ ^* I have manifested thy 

leave his father and mother, and name unto the men which thou 

shall be joined unto his wife, gavest me out of the world : 

and they two shall be one flesh. thine they were, and thou gavest 

This is a great mystery: but them me; and they have kept 

I speak concerning Christ and thy word. — John 17 : 6. 

the church. And now I am no more in 

Nevertheless let every one of the world, but these are in the 

you in particular so love his world, and I come to thee. Holy 

wife even as himself; and the Father, keep through thine own 

wife see that she reverence her name those whom thou hast giv- 

husband. — Eph. 5 ; 28-33. en me, that they may be one, 

" And when the day of Pen- as we are. 

tecost was fully come, they were While I was with them in 

all with one accord in one place. the world, I kept them in thy 

And suddenly there came a name : those that thou gavest 

sound from heaven as of a me I have kept, and none of 

rushing mighty wind, and it them is lost, but the son of per- 

filled all the house where they dition ; that the scripture might 

were sitting. be fulfilled. — John 17:11,12. 

And there appeared unto them They are not of the world, 

cloven tongues like as of fire, even as I am not of the world, 

and it sat upon each of them. — John 17:16. 



PROPHECY IN THE EPISTLES 



117 



11)/^ but still they are ''strangers and pilgrims" in rela- 
tion to the present world-system. 

Taken out of the world and given to Christ, the believ- 
ers composing the church are by Him charged with a 
great mission, universal in its scope, to the world out 
of which they were taken. That mission is to ''preach 
the gospel to every creature'' (Mark 16: 15) ; while as 
"an elect race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people 
for God's own possession," they ''shew forth the excel- 
lencies of him who hath called them out of darkness into 
his marvellous light" (1 Pet. 2:9, 19). 

It is made clear that the church belongs to the heavenly, 
as Israel to the earthly sphere (Eph. 1 : 3).^^ Her inheri- 
tance is in heaven (Eph. 1:11; 1 Pet. 1:4; John 14: 2 ; 
Rom. 8:17)1^; ^er citizenship is there (Phil. 3:20)^^ 
and her attitude is that of expectant waiting for Christ 
to receive her unto Himself (1 Thess. 1 : 9, 10; Titus 2: 
13; Phil. 3:20,21 ; 1 Cor. 15: 51, 52; 1 Thess. 4: 14-17).^^ 



^^ Dearly beloved, I beseech 
you as strangers and pilgrims, 
abstain from fleshly lusts, which 
war against the soul. — / Peter 
2 : II. 

^^ Blessed he the God and 
Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
who hath blessed us with all 
spiritual blessings in heavenly 
places in Christ. — Eph. i : 3. 

^~ In whom also we have ob- 
tained an inheritance, being pre- 
destinated according to the pur- 
pose of him who worketh all 
things after the counsel of his 
own will. — Eph. i : 11. 

To an inheritance incorrupti- 
ble, and undefiled, and that fad- 
eth not av^^ay, reserved in heav- 
en for you. — I Pet. 1:4. 

In my Father's house are 
many mansions : if it were not 
so, I would have told you. I 
go to prepare a place for you. — 
John 14 : 2. 

And if children, then heirs ; 
heirs of God, and joint-heirs 
with Christ ; if so be that we 
suffer with him, that we may be 
also glorified together. — Rom, 
8:17. 



^® For our citizenship is in 
heaven ; whence also we wait 
for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus 
Christ. — Phil. 3 : 20, Revised Ver- 
sion. 

" For they themselves shew 
of us what manner of entering 
in we had unto you, and how 
ye turned to God from idols to 
serve the living and true God ; 

And to wait for his Son from 
heaven, whom he raised from 
the dead, even Jesus, which de- 
livered us from the wrath to 
come. — I Thess. i : g, 10. 

Looking for that blessed hope, 
and the glorious appearing of 
the great God and our Saviour 
Jesus Christ. — Titus 2 : 13. 

For our citizenship is in 
heaven ; whence also we wait 
for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus 
Christ. — Phil. 3 : 20, Revised 
Version. 

Who shall change our vile 
body, that it may be fashioned 
like unto his glorious body, ac- 
cording to the working whereby 
he is able even to subdue all 
things unto himself. — Phil. 3: 
21. 



118 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



The Epistles distinguish the church from the churches. 
The body of Christ is composed of those who have really 
believed on Him, and are saved ; the churches are com- 
posed of those who have professed to believe, or who, as 
children of professed believers have been baptized, and so 
are accounted to be Christians. This profession may 
be of a true faith, or may be mere church membership. 

The distinction, like all distinctions between things that 
differ in the Word of God, is important, but it is espe- 
cially important in respect of church truth. For the 
predictive element in the Epistles and Revelation runs in 
two distinct lines. One of these concerns the future of 
the true ''church which is his body, the fulness of him 
that filleth all in all" (Eph. 1:23); the other concerns 
the mass of profession, known in common speech as 
''Christendom." Individually, these are so mingled now, 
and so outwardly alike, like the wheat and tares of the 
second "mystery of the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 13: 
24-30, 36-43),^^ as to be for the greater part indistin- 



Behold, I shew you a mys- 
tery ; We shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all be changed, ^ 

In a moment, in the twinkling 
of an eye, at the last trump : 
for the trumpet shall sound, and 
the dead shall be raised in- 
corruptible, and we shall be 
changed. — i Cor. 15 : 51, 52. 

For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with him. 

For this we say unto you by 
the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive and remain unto 
the coming of the Lord shall 
not prevent them which are 
asleep. 

For the Lord himself shall de- 
scend from heaven with a shout, 
with the voice of the archangel, 
and with the trump of God : and 
the dead in Christ shall rise 
first : 

Then we which are alive and 
remain shall be caught up to- 
gether with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air: 
and so shall we ever be with 
the Lord. — / Thess. 4:14-17. 



^^ Another parable put he forth 
unto them, saying, The kingdom 
of heaven is likened unto a man 
which soweth good seed in his 
field: 

But while men slept, his ene- 
my came and sowed tares among 
the wheat, and went his way. 

But when the blade was 
sprung up, and brought forth 
fruit, then appeared the tares 
also. 

So the servants of the house- 
holder came and said unto him. 
Sir, didst not thou sow good 
seed in thy field? from whence 
then hath it tares? 

He said unto them, An enemy 
hath done this. The servants 
said unto him, Wilt thou then 
that we go and gather them up? 

But he said, Nay ; lest while 
ye gather up the tares, ye root 
up also the wheat with them. 

Let both grow together until 
the harvest : and in the time of 
harvest I will say to the reap- 
ers, Gather ye together first the 
tares, and bind them in bundles 
to burn them : but gather the 



PROPHECY IN THE EPISTLES 



119 



giiishable. Nevertheless prophecy appoints to each a 
future strikingly unlike. Post-tribulationism, or the 
theory that the true church goes through the great tribu- 
lation, is due to confusion at this point. The mass of 
profession does go through the great tribulation — ^the 
church which is His body does not. 

The chief themes of prophecy in the Epistles are: 

1. The apostasy of the professing church. 

2. The ''Day of Christ'' and the rapture (catching up) 
of the true church. 

3. The ''day of the Lord'' and revelation of the man 
of sin. 

1. The 'iast days" are to witness a widespread apos- 
tasy within the professing church. This appears from 
many passages of which the chief are : Luke 18:8; 2 
Thess. 2 : 3, 7-12 ; 1 Tim. 4 : 1-3 ; 2 Tim. 3 : 1-9 ; 2 Pet. 3 
3-7; 1 John 2: 18-23; Jude 3-19 ;2i and also 1 Tim. 6 
3-5; 2 Tim. 2: 17, 18; 4:3, 4; 2 Pet. 2: 1-22; 1 John 4 
1-5; 2 John 7-11; 3 John 9. 



wheat into my barn, — Matt. 13 ■' 
24-30. 

Then Jesus sent the multitude 
away, and went into the house : 
and his disciples came unto him, 
saying, Declare unto us the par- 
able of the tares of the field. 

He answered and said unto 
them, He that soweth the good 
seed is the Son of man ; 

The field is the world ; the 
good seed are the children of 
the kingdom ; but the tares are 
the children of the wicked one; 

The enemy that sowed them 
is the devil ; the harvest is the 
end of the world ; and the reap- 
ers are the angels. 

As therefore the tares are 
gathered and burned in the fire ; 
so shall it be in the end of this 
world. 

The Son of man shall send 
forth his angels, and they shall 
gather out of his kingdom all 
things that offend, and them 
which do iniquity ; 

And shall cast them into a 
furnace of fire : there shall be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth. 



Then shall the righteous shine 
forth as the sun in the kingdom 
of their Father. Who hath ears 
to hear, let him hear. — Matt. 
13 ■ 36-43- 

^^ I tell you that he will avenge 
them speedily. Nevertheless 
when the Son of man cometh, 
shall he find faith on the earth ? 
—Luke 18 : 8. 

Let no man deceive you by 
any means : for that day shall 
not come, except there come a 
falling away first, and that man 
of sin be revealed, the son of 
perdition. — 2 Thess. 2 : S- 

For the mystery of iniquity 
doth already work : only he who 
now letteth will let, until he be 
taken out of the way. 

And then shall that Wicked 
be revealed, whom the Lord 
shall consume with the spirit of 
his mouth, and shall destroy 
with the brightness of his com- 
ing : 

Even him, whose coming is 
after the working of Satan with 
all power and signs and lying 
wonders, 



120 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYT 



And with all deceivableness 
of unrighteousness in them that 
perish ; because they received 
not the love of the truth, that 
they might be saved. 

And for this cause God shall 
send them strong delusion, that 
they should believe a lie : 

That they all might be damned 
who believed not the truth, but 
had pleasure in unrighteousness. 
— 2 Tliess. 2 : 7-12. 

Now the Spirit speaketh ex- 
pressly, that in the latter times 
some shall depart from the faith, 
giving heed to seducing spirits, 
and doctrines of devils ; 

Speaking lies in hypocrisy ; 
having their conscience seared 
with a hot iron ; 

Forbidding to marry, and 
commanding to abstain from 
meats, which God hath created 
be received with thanksgiving 
of them which believe and know 
the truth. — i Tim. 4 : 1-3. 

This know also, that in the 
last days perilous times shall 
come. 

For men shall be lovers of 
their own selves, covetous, boast- 
ers, proud, blasphemers, diso- 
bedient to parents, unthankful, 
unholy, 

Without natural affection, 
truce-breakers, false accusers, 
incontinent, fierce, despisers of 
those that are good, 

Traitors, heady, highminded, 
lovers of pleasures more than 
lovers of God ; 

Having a form of godliness, 
but denying the power thereof: 
from such turn away. . . . — 
2 Tim. 3 : i-g. 

Knowing this first, that there 
shall come in the last days scoff- 
ers, walking after their own 
lusts, 

And saying. Where is the 
promise of his coming? for 
since the fathers fell asleep, all 
things continue as they were 
from the beginning of the crea- 
tion. 

For this they willingly are 
ignorant of, that by the word of 



God the heavens were of old, 
and the earth standing out of 
the water and in the water : 

Whereby the world that then 
was, being overflowed with 
water, perished : 

But the heavens and the earth, 
which are now, by the same 
word are kept in store, re- 
served unto fire against the day 
of judgment and perdition of 
ungodly men. — 2 Pet. 3 : 3-7. 

Little children, it is the last 
time : and as ye have heard that 
antichrist shall come, even now 
are there many antichrists ; 
whereby we know that it is the 
last time. . . . 

Who is a liar but he that 
denieth that Jesus is the Christ ? 
He is antichrist, that denieth 
the Father and the Son. 

Whosoever denieth the Son. 
the same hath not the Father : 
{.huti he that acknowledgeth the 
Son hath the Father also. — 
I John 2 : 18-23. 

. . . And Enoch also, the sev- 
enth from Adam, prophesied of 
these, saying. Behold, the Lord 
Cometh with ten thousands of 
his saints, 

To execute judgment upon all, 
and to convince all that are 
ungodly among them of all their 
ungodly deeds which they have 
ungodly committed, and of all 
their hard speeches which un- 
godly sinners have spoken 
against him. 

These are murmurers, com- 
plainers, walking after their own 
lusts ; and their mouth speaketh 
great swelling words, having 
men's persons in admiration be- 
cause of advantage. 

But, beloved, - remember ye 
the words which were spoken 
before of the apostles of our 
Lord Jesus Christ ; 

How that they told you there 
should be mockers in the last 
time, who should walk after 
their own ungodly lusts. 

These be they who separate 
themselves, sensual, having not 
the Spirit. — Jnde 3-19. 



PROPHECY IN THE EPISTLES 



121 



Apostasy — ''falling- away," is disbelief of revealed 
truth, and is the act of professed Christians who deliber- 
ately reject revealed truth, (1) as to the deity of Jesus 
Christ, and, (2), redemption through His atoning sacri- 
fice (1 John 4:1-3; Phil. 3: 18; 2 Pet. 2: l).^^ Error 
concerning truth may be the result of ignorance (Acts 
19: 1-6).^^ Even heresy may be due to a snare of Satan 
(2 Tim. 2:25, 26)-^ in which a true believer, if careless 
and uninstructed, may be caught. Apostasy does not 
imply an openly sinful life, or a departure from the out- 
ward profession of Christianity. The apostate may be 
moral, cultured, kind and generous. In the warnings 
aibove cited apostasy is traced to false teachers, and their 
characteristics are given. They ''speak great swelling 
words" ; they "promise liberty" ; they are "of the world," 
and "speak of the world." They have the kind of success 



" Beloved, believe not every 
spirit, but try the spirits wheth- 
er they are of God : because 
many false prophets are gone 
out into the world. 

Hereby know ye the Spirit of 
God : Every spirit that confess- 
eth that Jesus Christ is come in 
the flesh is of God : 

And every spirit that confess- 
eth not that Jesus Christ is come 
in the flesh is not of God : and 
this is that spirit of antichrist, 
whereof ye have heard that it 
should come ; and even now al- 
ready is it in the world. — i John 
4 • 1-3' 

For many walk, of whom I 
have told you often, and now 
tell you even weeping, that they 
are the enemies of the cross of 
Christ.— Phil 3: 18. 

Wherefore laying aside all 
malice, and all guile, and hypoc- 
risies, and envies, and all evil 
speakings. — 2 Pet. 2 : i. 

^•^ And it came to pass, that, 
while Apollos was at Corinth, 
Paul having passed through the 
upper coasts came to Ephesus : 
and finding certain disciples. 

He said unto them, Have ye 
received the Holy Ghost since 



ye believed ? And they said un- 
to him, We have not so much 
as heard whether there be any 
Holy Ghost. 

And he said unto them, Unto 
what then were ye baptized ? 
And they said. Unto John's bap- 
tism. 

Then said Paul, John verily 
baptized with the baptism of re- 
pentance, saying unto the peo- 
ple, that they should believe on 
him which should come after 
him, that is, on Christ Jesus. 

When they heard this, they 
were baptized in the name of 
the Lord Jesus. 

And when Paul had laid his 
hands upon them, the Holy 
Ghost came on them ; and they 
spake with tongues, and proph- 
esied. — Acts 19 : 1-6. 

^* In meekness instructing 
those that oppose themselves ; 
if God peradventure will give 
them repentance to the acknowl- 
edging of the truth ; 

And that they may recover 
themselves out of the snare of 
the devil, who are taken captive 
by him at his will. — 2 Tim, 
2 : 25, 26. 



122 



IV HAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVf 



which they value, for *'the world heareth them" (1 John 
2:18, 19;4:l-5).25 

2. A new ^'dav," the 'May of Christ'' (1 Cor. 1:8; 
5 : 5 ; 2 Cor. 1:14; Phil. 1:6, 10 ; 2 : 16) -Ms revealed in 
connection, always, with the new promise of the return 
of the Lord made to the new body the church, in the 
upper chamber: 

"I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and 
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive 
you unto myself ; that where I am, there ye may be also." 

The fulfilment of that promise is, indeed, the great 
theme of prophecy in the Epistles. The ''day of Christ" 
is in no sense a ''phase" or "aspect" of the ''day of the 
Lord," as a comparison of the respective passages will 
show. 

According to the Epistles the new upper chamber 



*^ Little children, it is the last 
time : and as ye have heard that 
antichrist shall come, even now 
are there many antichrists ; 
whereby we know that it is the 
last time. 

They went out from us, but 
they were not of us ; for if they 
had been of us, they would r.o 
doubt have continued with us : 
but they went out, that they 
might be made manifest that 
they were not all of us. — / John 
2:18. 19. 

Beloved, believe not every 
spirit, but try the spirits wheth- 
er they are of God : because 
many false prophets are gone 
out into the world. 

Hereby know ye the Spirit of 
God : Every spirit that confess- 
eth that Jesus Christ is come 
in the flesh is of God : 

And every spirit that confess- 
eth not that Jesus Christ is come 
in the flesh is not of God : and 
this is that spirit of antichrist 
whereof ye have heard that it 
should come ; and even now al- 
ready is it in the world. 

Ye are of God, little children, 
and have overcome them : be- 
cause greater is he that is in 
you, than he that is in the world. 



They are of the world : there- 
fore speak they of the world, 
and the world heareth them. — 
I John 4 : 1-5. 

^^ Who shall also confirm you 
unto the end, that ye may he 
blameless in the day of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. — / Cor. i : 8. 

To deliver such an one unto 
Satan for the destruction of the 
flesh, that the spirit may be 
saved in the day of the Lord 
Jesus. — / Cor. 5 ; 5. 

As also ye have acknowledged 
us in part, that we are your 
rejoicing, even as ye also are 
ours in the day of the Lord 
Jesus. — 2 Cor. i : 14. 

Being confident of this very 
thing, that he which hath begun 
a good work in you will per- 
form it until the day of Jesus 
Christ.— PM7. 1:6. 

That ye may approve things 
that are excellent ; that ye may 
be sincere and without offence 
till the day of Christ. — Phil. 
I : TO. 

Holding forth the word of 
life ; that I may rejoice in the 
day of Christ, that I have not 
run in vain, neither laboured in 
vain. — Phil. 2: 16. 



PROPHECY IN THE EPISTLES 123 

promise of the Lord's return will be fulfilled in connec- 
tion zvith a resurrection, not of all the dead, but of ^'they 
that are Christ's at his coming" (1 Cor. 15:20-23).^^ 

''Behold, I shew you a mystery : We shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling 
of an eye, at the last trump ; for the trumpet shall sound, 
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall 
be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorrup- 
tion" (1 Cor. 15:51-53). 

The Epistles reveal the manner of the fulfilment of the 
new promise, 'T will receive you unto myself." '*But I 
would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning 
them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others 
which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died 
and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by 
the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain 
unto the coming of the Lord shall not precede them which 
are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from 
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 
and with the trump of God ; and the dead in Christ shall 
rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the 
Lord in the air : and so shall we ever be with the Lord" 
(1 Thess. 4:13-17). 

If this elaborate description of the manner of the 
fulfilment of the great new promise to the new body, 
the church, is compared with the confirmation of the old 
promise to Israel concerning the kingdom, as set forth 
in the Olivet Discourse (Matt. 24:25),^^ it will be seen 
that all is contrast. There His coming is preceded by 



^^ But now is Christ risen so in Christ shall all be made 

from the dead, and become the alive. 

n .r -. r .u ^-u ^ 1 ^ But every man m his own 

firstfrmts of them that slept. ^^^^^ . chHst the firstfruits ; 

For since by man came death, afterward they that are Christ's 



by man came also the resurrec- ^t his coming. — I Cor. 15 : 20- 
tion of the dead. '^is g^hold, I have t 

For as in Adam all die, even fore. — Matt. 24 : ^5. 



124 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVr 

great signs, and the formula is, ''When ye shall see/' 
Here are no signs whatever. There, He is accompanied 
by angels; here there is no mention of angels. There 
His coming is visible to ''every eye'' ; here only the sleep- 
ing and living "in Christ" are concerned. There His 
coming is to the earth ; here it is into "the air." There 
His coming is in connection with the "throne of his 
glory" (Matt. 25:31)^^; here it is in connection with a 
"place" among the "many mansions" of the Father's 
house, which He has gone away to prepare — literally 
"make ready" for His Bride. It is by no means to be 
implied that the departure of the church will be a "secret 
rapture." It will doubtless shake humanity to its center. 

And, in the Epistles, this new promise — a promise 
without a sign, without a single time-note, becomes the 
''blessed hope" (Titus 2: 13)^^ of the church. The Lord 
is ever "at hand" (Phil. 4: S).^! 

And, too, this "blessed hope," timeless and signless, 
gives the true attitude of the believer, "till he come" 
(1 Cor. 11:26).^^ The words which describe that atti- 
tude are, "looking" (Titus 2:13; Phil. 3:20),^^ "wait- 
ing" (Rom. 8:24,25; 1 Thess. 1:10).^^ Any interpre- 
tation, therefore, of the new promise of His coming which 
makes it absurd, or a mere form of words without real 
substance, actually to w^atch and wait for "his Son from 
heaven," is condemned by that very fact. It is, in all 
practical result, saying, "My Lord delayeth his coming." 

^* When the Son of man shall ^^ For our citizenship is in 

come in his glory, and all the heaven; from whence also we 

holy angels with him, then shall wait for a Saviour, the Lord 

he sit upon the throne of his Jesus Christ.— PhiL 3:20, Re- 

glory.— Matt. 25: 3i- ^''ifl ^^^^^^^- , , , 
„ft T 1 . r t ,i , '**l^or we are saved by hope: 
s« Looking for that blessed but hope that is seen is not 
hope, and the glorious appearing hope : for what a man seeth, 
of the great God and our Sav- why doth he yet hope for? 
iour Jesus Christ. — Titus 2 : 13. But if we hope for that we 
^^Let your moderation "be ^^^ ^^t, then do we with pa- 
known unto all men. The Lord ^^^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ it.— Rom. 8 : 24, 

is at hand. — Phil. 4:5. ^^\ , ^ -^ r i.- c r 
32 T7 r^ . .1 • -^J^d to wait for his Son from 
For as often as ye eat this heaven, whom he raised from 
bread, and drink this cup, ye do the dead, even Jesus, which de- 
shew the Lord s death till he livered us from the wrath to 
come.—/ Cor. 11:26. come.—/ Thess. 1:10. 



PROPHECY IN THE EPISTLES 



US 



3. The ''day of the Lord'' is mentioned in two ways : 
(1) in relation to the order of events in unfulfilled proph- 
ecy; (2) to assure believers that they are not ''of" that 
day. 

The ''day of the Lord," described in Scripture, both in 
the Old Testament and the New in terms of wrath and 
judgment, in w^hich it is in absolute contrast with the 
new "day of Christ," is mentioned in the Epistles in 
two ways. (1) The saints of the church are assured 
that they are not of "that day." That is a "day of dark- 
ness, and not light" (Amos 5: 18, 20; Joel 2:2; Zeph. 
1: 15),^^ but the believers are assured that "Ye are all 
sons of light, and sons of the day : we are not of the 
night, nor of darkness" (1 Thess. 5:1-8).^^ And the 
"day O'f the Lord" is a day of wrath (Zeph. 1:15),^"^ 
but, "God hath not appointed us to wrath" (1 Thess. 
5:9),^^ And (2) the "day of the Lord" is said to be 



^^ Woe unto you that desire 
the day of the Lord ! to what 
end is it for you? the day of 
the Lord is darkness, and not 
light. — Amos 5 •* ^8. 

Shall not the day of the Lord 
be darkness, and not light? 
even very dark, and no bright- 
ness in it ? — Amos 5 : 20. 

A day of darkness and of 
gloominess, a day of clouds and 
of thick darkness, as the morn- 
ing spread upon the mountains : 
a great people and a strong; 
there hath not been ever the 
like, neither shall be any more 
after it, even to the years of 
many generations. — Joel 2 : 2. 

That day is a day of wrath, 
a day of trouble and distress, a 
day of wasteness and desolation, 
a day of darkness and gloomi- 
ness, a day of clouds and thick 
darkness. — Zeph. 1 : 15. 

^^But of the times and the 
seasons, brethren, ye have no 
need that I write unto you. 

For yourselves know perfectly 
that the day of the Lord so 
cometh as a thief in the night. 

For when they shall say, 
Peace and safety ; then sudden 



destruction cometh upon them, 
as travail upon a woman with 
child ; and they shall not escape. 

But ye, brethren, are not in 
darkness, that that day should 
overtake you as a thief. 

Ye are all the children of 
light, and the children of the 
day : we are not of the night, 
nor of darkness. 

Therefore let us not sleep, as 
do others ; but let us watch and 
be sober. 

For they that sleep sleep in 
the night ; and they that be 
drunken are drunken in the 
night. 

But let us, who are of the 
day, be sober, putting on the 
breastplate of faith and love ; 
and for an helmet, the hope of 
salvation. — i Thess. 5 : 1-8. 

^'^ That day is a day of wrath, 
a day of trouble and distress, a 
day of wasteness and desolation, 
a day of darkness and gloomi- 
ness, a day of clouds and thick 
darkness. — Zeph. 1:15. 

^ For God hath not appointed 
us to wrath, but to obtain salva- 
tion by our Lord Jesus Christ. 
— I Thess, 5:9. 



126 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVF 

the day of the ''man of sin" (Daniel's ''little horn/' the 
"abomination of desolation" of the Olivet Discourse, the 
"beast out of the sea" of Rev. 13) ; and the signs which 
precede the "day of the Lord" are given. 

Briefly, then, the prophetic element in the Epistles has 
to do with the apostasy of the professing church; "the 
day of Christ" ; the taking away of the true church, ac- 
cording to the new promise (John 14:2,3)^^; followed 
by the revelation of the "man of sin" and the "day of 
the Lord," in which the true church has no part. 

And what, in view of current discussions, is of tre- 
mendous importance, is the outstanding fact that not once 
in the Epistles, written for the especial instruction , warn- 
ing, and encouragement of the church, is the great tribu- 
lation so much as mentioned! 

^^ In my Father's house are And if I go and prepare a 

many mansions : if it were not P^^5^e for you, I will come again, 

^ ,, , ,j _ and receive you unto myself; 

so, I would have told you. I that where I am, there ye may 

go to prepare a place for you. be also. — John 14 : 2, j. 



IX. THE REVELATION 

THE REVELATION gathers up and carries on to 
complete fulfilment all the visions of all the 
prophets concerning the future, in so far as these 
were not fulfilled at the first advent of Jesus 
Christ. In addition to that which had already been in 
the prophetic foreview of the Epistles, the future of the 
church is revealed from the end of the first century to 
the end of the church period. 

Taken in order, the predictive portions of The Reve- 
lation are as follows : 

L ''The things which are'' (Rev. 1 : 19),^ or the vision 
of the earth-history of the visible, or professing, church. 
This prophecy is told in seven messages from the risen 
Christ to seven selected churches then existing in the 
Roman province of Asia. Taken in the order in which 
they appear in the messages (Rev. 2 and 3), the spiritual 
state of those churches corresponded exactly to the 
average spiritual state of the whole professing church 
as the same would develop historically. The proof of 
the interpretation which finds in the messages to the 
seven churches a history in prophetic form of the visible 
church from the close of the apostolic period to the end, 
is unanswerable, for it consists of the history which the 
church has actually made. The church has passed 
through the conditions described in the seven messages. 
It is not meant that the messages had, or have, no 
other purpose. Their primary use was to reveal to those 
actual churches in John's day those things in which the 
Lord both approved and disapproved their state. Char- 
acteristically, He mentions first the things which He could 
approve. But the Christ in the glory also rebukes unspar- 

^ W^rite the things which thou are, and the things which shall 
hast seen, and the things which be hereafter. — Rev. i : i(^. 

127 



128 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 

ingly whatever He finds wrong. In the promises to the 
overcomers are given mighty encouragements to those in 
the churches who may overcome in respect of the evils 
shown to exist in the church in question. A second 
use of the messages is that by them any local church 
of any age may, if it be in earnest to amend its ways, 
test its spiritual condition. And a third use is that these 
messages constitute such an unfolding of the mind of 
Christ about life and service as that any Christian may 
make the whole message personal, and test himself by it. 

But these uses are secondary. The messages, first 
of all, give a foreview of the history of the professing 
church. It is the divine way to give, at the beginning of 
some new thing which God is doing in the earth, a proph- 
ecy covering its future. When Israel was about to enter 
the Land of Promise the whole future of that nation was 
outlined in the last chapters of Deuteronomy. It has 
been fulfilled to the very letter. At the beginning of 
the ''times of the Gentiles'' God gave, in the Image 
Vision of Daniel 2, and in the Wild Beast Vision of 
Daniel 7, a panorama of world-history down to an end 
not yet reached ; and that prophecy has been fulfilled 
with absolute precision in the great world empires. It 
would, then, be strange indeed if there were no prophetic 
vision of church history. 

Summarizing the seven messages to the seven churches 
in Asia, it may be said that in the first of the messages, 
that to Ephesus,^ we have a description of the general or 

' Unto the angel of the church Nevertheless I have somezvhat 
of Ephesus write ; These things against thee, because thou hast 
saith he that holdeth the seven left thy first love, 
stars in his right hand, who Remember therefore from 
walketh in the midst of the whence thou art fallen, and re- 
seven golden candlesticks ; pent, and do the first works ; or 

I know thy works, and thy else I will come unto thee 

labour, and thy patience, and quickly, and will remove thy 

how thou canst not bear them candlestick out of his place, ex- 

which are evil : and thou hast cept thou repent, 

tried them which say they are But this thou hast, that thou 

apostles, and are not, and hast hatest the deeds of the Nicolai- 

found them liars : tanes, which I also hate. 

And hast borne, and hast pa- He that hath an ear, let him 
tience, and for my name's sake hear what the Spirit saith unto 
hast laboured, and hast not the churches ; To him that over- 
fainted, cometh will I give to eat of the 



THE REVELATION 129 

average state of the church at large at the end of the 
first century. All of the apostles except John had sealed 
their faith in martyrdom. As to actual vigor of life the 
condition of the church was excellent. Good works 
abounded, and there was zeal for purity of doctrine (Rev. 
2:2, 3). But a change had taken place which, if not 
repented of, would prove fatal. The church had ''left'' 
first love. The motive back of all that abundant service 
had insensibly changed from devotion to Christ Himself 
(comp. John 21: 15-17) to zeal for His ''name" (v. 3). 
There was a great "cause" now — Christianity. But that 
which alone gives value to service is the personal devoted- 
ness of first love (John 21: 15-17).^ And so serious is 
the loss of first love, that no fervency of zeal in service 
can take its place. 'T will come unto thee quickly, and 
will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou 
repent." 

First love has been defined as "complete satisfaction 
of the heart with its object." There is no outward test 
of it. Surely not work, nor even "labor," for these 
abounded still at Ephesus, while the motive was His 
"name's sake." The day of "denominations" with their 
claim upon Christian loyalty was yet in the far future. 
The rift in the lute that was to widen and make the music 
mute was still seemingly slight. It was still possible to 
repent, and do the "first works." This seems without 
doubt a reference to soul winning. 

The second message, that to Smyrna (Rev. 2:8-11),^ 

tree of life, which is in the time, Simon, son of Jonas, lov- 

midst of the Paradise of God. — est thou me? Peter was grieved 

Rev. 2 : i'7. because he said unto him the 

^ So when they had dined, third time, Lovest thou me ? 

Jesus saith to Simon~ Peter, Si- And he said unto him, Lord, 

mon, son of Jonas, lovest thou thou knowest all things ; thou 

me more than these? He saith knowest that I love thee. Jesus 

unto him, Yea, Lord ; thou saith unto him. Feed my sheep, 

knowest that I love thee. He — John 2i : iS-i/- 

saith unto him. Feed my lambs. * And unto the angel of the 

He saith to him again the church in Smyrna write ; These 

second time, Simon, son of things saith the first and the 

Jonas, lovest thou me? He last, which was dead, and is 

saith unto him, Yea, Lord ; thou alive ; 

knowest that I love thee. He I know thy works, and tribu- 

saith unto him. Feed my sheep. lation, and poverty, (but thou 

He saith unto him the third art rich) and / knozv the bias- 



130 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 

belongs to the period of the great systematic persecutions 
which followed the close of the apostolic period, and 
lasted during the second and third centuries. Persecu- 
tion, relentless and cruel, had indeed followed the exten- 
sion of Christianity throughout the Roman Empire, but 
such assaults upon the infant church were local, sporadic, 
and usually instigated by unbelieving Jew^s. But during 
the second and third centuries bitter and persistent at- 
tempts were made by the imperial authority, and in every 
part of the Roman Empire, to exterminate the new^ faith. 
It is touching to see that this message has only com- 
mendation. The great Head of the body would not 
rebuke a church in persecution. 

The third message ^ has an unmistakable application to 
the third period of church history — the times following 
the alleged conversion of Constantine, under whom 
Christianity became the court religion. So far from pro- 
fession of faith in Christ being the signal for persecution, 
it now became the condition of preferment. Legions of 
Roman soldiers w^ere baptized wnth not even the pretense 
of conversion. The revenues of heathen temples were 

phemy of them which say they among you, where Satan dwell- 

are Jews, and are not, but are eth. 

the synagogue of Satan. But I have a few things 

Fear none of those things against thee, because thou hast 

which thou shalt suffer : behold, there them that hold the doc- 

the devil shall cast some of you trine of Balaam, who taught 

into prison, that ye may be Balac to cast a stumblingblock 

tried ; and ye shall have tribu- before the children of Israel, to 

lation ten days : be thou faith- eat things sacrificed unto idols, 

ful unto death, and I will give and to commit fornication, 

thee a crown of life. So hast thou also them that 

He that hath an ear, let him hold the doctrine of the Nico- 

hear what the Spirit saith unto laitanes, which thing I hate, 

the churches ; He that overcom- Repent ; or else I will come 

eth shall not be hurt of the sec- unto thee quickly, and will fight 

ond death. — Rev. 2:8-11. against them with the sword of 

* And to the angel of the my mouth, 

church in Pergamos write ; He that hath an ear, let him 

These things saith he which hath hear what the Spirit saith unto 

the sharp sword with two edges ; the churches ; To him that over- 

I know thy works, and where cometh will I give to eat of the 

thou dwellest, even where Sa- hidden manna, and will give 

tan's seat is: and thou boldest him a white stone, and in the 

fast my name, and hast not de- stone a new name written, 

nied my faith, even in those which no man knoweth saving 

days wherein Antipas was my he that receiveth it. — Rev. 2: 

faithful martyr, who was slain 9-i7- 



THE REVELATION 131 

used to endow bishoprics. Singularly enough there was 
great zeal for correct doctrine, along with an utter de- 
parture from the apostolic simplicity in church order. 
It was the period of the great creeds. 

How suited the message! ''I know thy works, and 
where thou dwellest, even where Satan's throne is . . . 
where Satan dwelleth.'' Alas! the ''stranger'' and *'pil- 
grim" church had not only left her first love but, un- 
cured by the fires of her persecution, had become an 
earth-dweller. Nay, worse than that, had settled down 
in the ''world," "where Satan's throne is." Satan does 
not reign in hell— that is the place of his eternal punish- 
ment (Rev. 20:10).^ He is the "prince" and "god" 
of this world (John 14:30; 2 Cor. 4:4).'^ It is the 
world-system, organized upon the Satanic principles of 
avarice, pride, brute force, ambition — not the "world" 
of men nor of nature — into which the church settled 
down in the fourth century. 

The fourth message pictures a condition which is an 
inevitable consequence of the state described in the mes- 
sage to Pergamos. If Christianity as represented by 
the professing church is to settle down in the world it 
must adjust itself to worldly conditions. It must claim 
authority both to teach and to rule. And this is pre- 
cisely what occurred historically in the centuries fol- 
lowing the professed conversion of Constantine until 
the mighty voice of Luther called men back to the Bible. 
Thyatira has every essential mark of the Roman apos- 
tasy.^ Conspicuous for charity and "works," and by no 

^ And the devil that deceived who is the image of God, should 

them was cast into the lake of shine unto them. — 2 Cor. 4 : 4. 

fire and brimstone, where the * And unto the angel of the 

beast and the false prophet are, church in Thyatira write ; These 

and shall be tormented day and things saith the Son of God, 

night for ever and ever. — Rev. who hath his eyes like unto a 

20 : 10. flame of fire, and his feet are 

'^ Hereafter I will not talk like fine brass ; 

much with you : for the prince I know thy works, and char- 

of this world cometh, and hath ity, and service, and faith, and 

nothing in me. — John 14 : $0. thy patience, and thy works ; 

In whom the god of this world and the last to be more than 

hath blinded the minds of them the first. 

which believe not, lest the light Notwithstanding I have a few 

of the glorious gospel of Christ, things against thee, because thou 



132 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



means destitute of faith though denying" its sufficiency for 
salvation, Rome has yet been a true Jezebel, bringing 
pagan practises into her ritual; assuming authority to 
teach ; forming unclean alliances with the nations, and 
persecuting the true church (1 Kings 21:25).^ 

The message, however, recognizes in that mass of 
apostate profession a ''rest,'' or remnant (v. 24) of true 
believers, and to this remnant the risen Christ renews 
the fiezir promise of His coming — the upper chamber 
promise : *''And I will give him the morning star'' (v. 28). 
In the older promise, that to Israel, His return is likened 
to the rising of the sun (Mai. 4:2)}^ But in nature 
there is something which precedes the sun-rising; it is 
the morning star. In Malachi the rising of *'the Sun 
of righteousness" ushers in the terrible ''day of the 
Lord," "that shall burn as an oven" (Mai. 4:1),^^ but 



sufferest that woman Jezebel, 
which calleth herself a proph- 
etess, to teach and to seduce 
my servants to commit forni- 
cation, and to eat things sacri- 
ficed unto idols. 

And 1 gave her space to re- 
pent of her fornication; and she 
repented not. 

Behold, I will cast her into 
a bed, and them that commit 
adultery with her into great 
tribulation, except they repent 
of their deeds. 

And I will kill her children 
with death ; and all the church- 
es shall know that I am he 
which searcheth the reins and 
hearts : and I will give unto 
every one of you according to 
your works. 

But unto you I say, and unto 
the rest in Thyatira, as many 
as have not this doctrine, and 
which have not known the 
depths of Satan, as they speak ; 
I will put upon you none other 
burden. 

But that which ye have al- 
ready, hold fast till I come. 

And he that overcometh, and 
keepeth my works unto the end, 



to him will I give power over 
the nations : 

And he shall rule them with 
a rod of iron ; as the vessels of 
a potter shall they be broken to 
shivers : even as I received of 
my Father. 

And I will give him the morn- 
ing star. 

He that hath an ear, let him 
hear what the Spirit saith unto 
the churches. — Rev. 2 : i8-2g. 

^ But there was none like 
unto Ahab, which did sell him- 
self to work wickedness in the 
sight of the Lord, whom Jeze- 
bel his wife stirred up. — / 
Kings 21 : 25. 

^^ But unto you that fear my 
name shall the Sun of right- 
eousness arise with healing in 
his win,s:s ; and ye shall go forth, 
and grow up as calves of the 
stall. — MoL 4: 2. 

" For, behold, the day cometh, 
that shall burn as an oven ; and 
all the proud, yea, and all that 
do wickedly, shall be stubble : 
and the day that cometh shall 
burn them up, saith the Lord of 
hosts, that it shall leave them 
neither root nor branch. — Mai. 
4: I. 



THE REVELATION 133 

believers are not ''appointed unto wrath'* (1 Thess. 5: 
9)/^ and true believers, even in Thyatira, shall be given 
''the morning- star/' 

The fifth message, that to Sardis (Rev. 3:1-6)^^ 
speaks of the Protestant Reformation, for, historically, 
it was that which broke the long night of the dark ages. 
The keyword is, 'T have not found thy works perfect 
[literally, 'fulfilled'] before my God." There was a 
remarkable arrest in the progress of the Reformation 
movement, which has attracted the attention of the secu- 
lar historians of this period. Macaulay calls attention 
to the "singular fact" that after having gained nearly 
half of Europe, the Reformation not only ceased to gain, 
but lost nearly half of that which it had gained. The 
explanation is to be found in the fact that almost imme- 
diately the movement lost unity. Following human lead- 
ers, and so dividing into sects, marked by a bitter and 
controversial spirit, it is small wonder that the one work 
committed to the church, that of world-wide evangeliza- 
tion, was forgotten. Forgotten, too, was the hope and 
expectation of the return of the Lord, until the dis- 
tinctive hope of the church (John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 
4: 14-17)^^ became confused with the Jewish expectation, 

^2 For God hath not appointed in Sardis which have not de- 

us to wrath, but to obtain sal- filed their garments ; and they 

vation by our Lord Jesus Christ. shall walk with me in white : 

— I Thess. 5 : g. for they are worthy. 

^^ And unto the angel of the He that overcometh, the same 

church in Sardis write ; These shall be clothed in white rai- 

things saith he that hath the ment ; and I will not blot out 

seven Spirits of God, and the his name out of the book of 

seven stars ; I know thy works, life, but I will confess his name 

that thou hast a name that thou before my Father, and before 

livest, and art dead. his angels. 

Be watchful, and strengthen He that hath an ear, let him 

the things which remain, that hear what the Spirit saith unto 

are ready to die : for I have not the churches. — Rev. 3 : 1-6. 

found thy works perfect before ^^ Let not your heart be trou- 

God. bled : ye believe in God, be- 

Remember therefore how thou lieve also in me. 

hast received and heard, and In my Father's house are many 

hold fast, and repent. If there- mansions : if it were not so, I 

fore thou shalt not watch, I will would have told you. I go to 

come on thee as a thief, and prepare a place for you. 

thou shalt not know what hour And if I go and prepare a 

I will come upon thee. place for you, I will come again. 

Thou hast a few names even and receive you unto myself; 



134 



IV HAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 



and the whole doctrine fell into neglect and then into dis- 
belief. Hence the warning: 

"If therefore thou shalt not watch, I will come on 
thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I 
\\\\\ come upon thee.'' Significant, too, in the light of 
present conditions, the weakening of the old faith in 
the authority of the Bible, and the decay of doctrine, is 
the warning: ''Be watchful, and strengthen the things 
which remain, that are ready to die . . . remember how 
thou hast received and heard." Protestantism, in the 
grace of God, had received an open Bible — always, in 
any state of the church, the one resource for faith. 

The two remaining messages, that to Philadelphia, 
and the final message, to Laodicea (Rev. 3:7-13; 3: 
14-22),^^ evidently present the two-fold state of Prot- 

for thou hast a little strength, 
and hast kept my word, and hast 
not denied my name. 

Behold, I will make them of 
the synagogue of Satan, which 
say they are Jews, and are not, 
but do lie ; behold, I will make 
them to come and worship be- 
fore thy feet, and to know that 
I have loved thee. 

Because thou hast kept the 
word of my patience, I also will 
keep thee from the hour of 
temptation, which shall come 
upon all the world, to try them 
that dwell upon the earth. 

Behold, I come quickly : hold 
that fast Vv^hich thou hast, that 
no man take thy crown. 

Him that overcometh will I 
make a pillar in the temple of 
my God, and he shall go no 
more out : and I will write upon 
him the name of my God, and 
the name of the city of my 
God, which is new Jerusalem, 
which Cometh down out of heav- 
en from my God : and / will 
write upon him my new name. 

He that hath an ear, let him 
hear what the Spirit saith unto 
the churches. — Rev. 3:7-13. 

And unto the angel of the 
church of the Laodiceans write ; 
These things saith the Amen, 
the faithful and true witness, 



that where I am, there ye may 
be also. — John 14 : 1-3. 

For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with him. 

For this we say unto you by 
the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive and remain tm- 
to the coming of the Lord shall 
not prevent them which are 
asleep. 

For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump 
of God : and the dead in Christ 
shall rise first : 

Then we which are alive and 
remain shall be caught up to- 
gether with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air: 
and so shall we ever be with 
the Lord. — / Thess. 4 : 14-17. 

^^And to the angel of the 
church in Philadelphia write : 
These things saith he that is 
holy, he that is true, he that 
hath the key of David, he that 
openeth, and no man shutteth ; 
and shutteth, and no man open- 
eth ; 

I know thy works : behold, I 
have set before thee an open 
door, and no man can shut it : 



THE REVELATION 135 

estantism at the end — a differing- state found, not in 
any one sect, but in all the sects. In all there are Phila- 
delphians; in all there are Laodiceans. And again the 
interpretation which finds in the messages to Philadel- 
phia and to Laodicea prophetic pictures of the state of 
the Protestant churches at the end of the church period 
is confirmed by the indisputable facts. What is there 
prophesied has come to pass. Not merely in every 
denomination, but in every local church, this division 
into the few who pray and witness and work, and the 
many who do neither, exists. What proportion of the 
members in any church habitually attend the prayer and 
missionary meetings, or have ever brought a sinner to 
Christ? 

In the message the Philadelphians are characterized 
by faith : ''thou hast kept my word, and hast not denied 
my name'' ; and by ''a little strength" (literally, ''power"). 
To such, right up to the end, is promised an open door, 
for service, and exemption from the great tribulation: 
"Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I 
also will keep thee from [literally, 'out of] the hour 
of temptation, which shall come upon all the world to 
try them that dwell upon the earth." 

It is, indeed, and quite apart from this specific prom- 
ise, remarkable that any should have supposed it pos- 
sible in the light of Scripture for the true church to go 

the beginning of the creation of clothed, and that the shame of 

God ; thy nakedness do not appear ; 

I know thy works, that thou and anoint thine eyes with eye- 
art neither cold nor hot : I would salve, that thou mayest see. 
thou wert cold or hot. As many as I love, I rebuke 

So then because thou art luke- |^^ chasten : be zealous there- 
warm, and neither cold nor hot, ^''^^'.^^V ""^^^f' , . .. . 
T -11 ^ ^u 4. r _, Behold, 1 stand at the door, 
I will spue thee out of my and knock : if any man hear my 
moutn. ^ voice, and open the door, I will 

Because tnou sayest I am come in to him, and will sup 

rich, and increased with goods, with him, and he with me. 

and have need of nothing; and To him that overcometh will 

knowest not that thou art I grant to sit with me in my 

wretched, and miserable, and throne, even as I also overcame, 

poor, and blind, and naked: and am set down with my 

I counsel thee to buy of me Father in his throne, 

gold tried in the fire, that thou He that hath an ear, let him 

mayest be rich; and white rai- hear what the Spirit saith unto 

ment, that thou mayest be the churches. — Rev. 3 : 14-22. 



136 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



through the great tribulation (Matt. 24:21; Jer. 30: 
4-7).^^ The church knows much tribulation (Acts 14: 
22; 1 Pe t. 4 : 12-19; James 5: 1-9)/^ but the grea t tribu- 



" For then shall be great trib- 
ulation, such as was not since 
the beginning of the world to 
this time, nor ever shall be. — 
Matt. 24:21. 

And these are the words that 
the Lord spake concerning Is- 
rael and concerning Judah. 

For thus saith the Lord ; We 
have heard a voice of trembling, 
of fear, and not of peace. 

Ask ye now, and see whether 
a man doth travail with child? 
wherefore do I see every man 
with his hands on his loins, as 
a woman in travail, and all 
faces are turned into paleness? 

Alas ! for that day is great, 
so that none is like it : it is 
even the time of Jacob's trou- 
ble ; but he shall be saved out 
of it. — Jer. 30: 4-7. 

" Confirming the souls of the 
disciples, and exhorting them to 
continue in the faith, and that 
we must through much tribu- 
lation enter into the kingdom 
of God. — Acts 14:22. 

Beloved, think it not strange 
concerning the fiery trial which 
is to try you, as though some 
strange thing happened unto 
you : 

But rejoice, inasmuch as ye 
are partakers of Christ's suffer- 
ings ; that, when his glory shall 
be revealed, ye may be glad also 
with exceeding joy. 

If ye be reproached for the 
name of Christ, happy are ye; 
for the spirit of glory and of 
God resteth upon you : on their 
part he is evil spoken of, but 
on your part he is glorified. 

But let none of you suffer as 
a murderer, or as a thief, or as 
an evildoer, or as a busybody 
in other men's matters. 

Yet if any man suffer as a 
Christian, let him not be 
ashamed ; but let him glorify 
God on this behalf. 

For the time is come that 
judgment must begin at the 



house of God: and if it first 
begin at us, what shall the end 
he of them that obey not the 
gospel of God? 

And if the righteous scarcely 
be saved, where shall the un- 
godly and the sinner appear? 

Wherefore let them that suf- 
fer according to the will of God 
commit the keeping of their 
souls to him in well doing, as 
unto a faithful Creator. — / Pet. 
4 : 12-19. 

Go to now, ye rich men, weep 
and howl for your miseries that 
shall come upon you. 

Your riches are corrupted, and 
your garments are motheaten. 

Your gold and silver is can- 
kered ; and the rust of them 
shall be a witness against you, 
and shall eat your flesh as it 
were fire. Ye have heaped treas- 
ure together for the last days. 

Behold, the hire of the labour- 
ers who have reaped down your 
fields, which is of you kept back 
by fraud, crieth : and the cries 
of them which have reaped are 
entered into the ears of the 
Lord of sabaoth. 

Ye have lived in pleasure on 
the earth, and been wanton ; ye 
have nourished your hearts, as 
in a day of slaughter. 

Ye have condemned and killed 
the just ; and he doth not resist 
you. 

Be patient therefore, brethren, 
unto the coming of the Lord. 
Behold, the husbandman waiteth 
for the precious fruit of the 
earth, and hath long patience 
for it, until he receive the early 
and latter rain. 

Be ye also patient ; stablish 
your hearts : for the coming of 
the Lord draweth nigh. 

Grudge not one against an- 
other, brethren, lest ye be con- 
demned : behold, the judge 
standeth before the door. — 
James 5 : /-p. 



THE REVELATION 



137 



lation is never once mentioned in connection with the 
first resurrection ; never mentioned in connection with the 
departure of the church to meet the Lord in the air (1 
Thess. 4: 14-17)^^; never mentioned at all in the Epis- 
tles, which were written for the instruction of the church ! 
On the contrary, the great tribulation is both judgment 
and wrath, and the church is promised exemption from 
both (Rev. 14:15, 16; 15:7, 8; 16:1-21; 1 Thess. 5: 
1-9; John 5 :2A)}^ And perhaps still more conclusively, 



^^ For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with him. 

For this we say unto you by 
the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive and remain unto 
the coming of the Lord shall not 
prevent them which are asleep. 

For the Lord himself shall de- 
scend from heaven with a shout, 
with the voice of the archangel, 
and with the trump of God : and 
the dead in Christ shall rise 
first: 

Then we which are alive and 
remain shall be caught up to- 
gether with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air : and 
so shall we ever be with the 
Lord. — I Thess. 4 : 14-1? • 

^^And another angel came out 
of the temple, crying with a loud 
voice to him that sat on the 
cloud. Thrust in thy sickle, and 
reap : for the time is come for 
thee to reap ; for the harvest of 
the earth is ripe. 

And he that sat on the cloud 
thrust in his sickle on the earth ; 
and the earth was reaped. — Rev. 
14 : 13, 16. 

And one of the four beasts 
gave unto the seven angels seven 
golden vials full of the wrath 
of God, who liveth for ever and 
ever. 

And the temple was filled with 
smoke from the glory of God, 
and from his power; and no 
man was able to enter into the 
temple, till the seven plagues of 
the seven angels were fulfilled. 
— Rev. 15 : 7, S, 



And I heard a great voice out 
of the temple saying to the 
seven angels. Go your ways, and 
pour out the vials of the wrath 
of God upon the earth. 

And the first went, and poured 
out his vial upon the earth ; and 
there fell a noisome and griev- 
ous sore upon the men which 
had the mark of the beast, and 
upon them which worshipped 
his image. 

And the second angel poured 
out his vial upon the sea ; and 
it became as the blood of a dead 
man: and every living soul died 
in the sea. 

And the third angel poured 
out his vial upon the rivers and 
fountains of waters ; and they 
became blood. 

And I heard the angel of the 
v/aters say, Thou art righteous, 
O Lord, which art, and wast, 
and shalt be, because thou hast 
judged thus. 

For they have shed the blood 
of saints and prophets, and thou 
hast given them blood to drink ; 
for they are worthy. 

And I heard another out of 
the altar say, Even so, Lord God 
Almighty, true and righteous are 
thy judgments. 

And the fourth angel poured 
out his vial upon the sun ; and 
power was given unto him to 
scorch men with fire. 

And men were scorched with 
great heat, and blasphemed the 
name of God, which hath power 
over these plagues : and they re- 
pented not to give him glory. 



138 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVf 



in the portions of The Revelation which describe with 
curious minuteness the events which make up the great 
tribulation, the church is not once mentioned. The rea- 



And the fifth angel poured out 
his vial upon the seat of the 
beast ; and his kingdom was full 
of darkness ; and they gnawed 
their tongues for pain, 

And blasphemed the God of 
heaven because of their pains 
and their sores, and repented not 
of their deeds. 

And the sixth angel poured 
out his vial upon the great river 
Euphrates ; and the water there- 
of was dried up, that the way of 
the kings of the east might be 
prepared. 

And I saw three unclean spir- 
its like frogs come out of the 
mouth of the dragon, and out 
of the mouth of the beast, and 
out of the mouth of the false 
prophet. 

For they are the spirits of 
devils, working miracles, zuhich 
go forth unto the kings of the 
earth and of the whole world, 
to gather them to the battle of 
that great day of God Almighty. 

Behold, I come as a thief. 
Blessed is he that watcheth, and 
keepeth his garments, lest he 
walk naked, and they see his 
shame. 

And he gathered them togeth- 
er into a place called in the 
Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 

And the seventh angel poured 
out his vial into the air ; and 
there came a great voice out of 
4he temple of heaven, from the 
throne, saying. It is done. 

And there were voices, and 
thunders, and lightnings ; and 
there was a great earthquake, 
such as was not since men were 
upon the earth, so mighty an 
earthquake, and so great. 

And the great city was divid- 
ed into three parts, and the cit- 
ies of the nations fell : and great 
Babylon came in remembrance 
before God, to give unto her the 
cup of the wine of the fierceness 
of his wrath. 



And every island fled away, 
and the mountains were not 
found. 

And there fell upon men a 
great hail out of heaven, every 
stone about the weight of a 
talent : and men blasphemed 
God because of the plague of 
the hail ; for the plague thereof 
was exceeding great. — Rev. i6: 

I-2I. 

But of the times and the sea- 
sons, brethren, ye have no need 
that I write unto you. 

For yourselves know perfectly 
that the day of the Lord so 
Cometh as a thief in the night. 

For when they shall say, 
Peace and safety ; then sudden 
destruction cometh upon them, 
as travail upon a woman with 
child ; and they shall not escape. 

But ye, brethren, are not in 
darkness, that that day should 
overtake you as a thief. 

Ye are all the children of 
light, and the children of the 
day : we are not of the night, 
nor of darkness. 

Therefore let us not sleep, as 
do others ; but let us watch and 
be sober. 

For they that sleep sleep in 
the night ; and they that be 
drunken are drunken in the 
night. 

But let us, who are of the day, 
be sober, putting on the breast- 
plate of faith and love : and for 
an helmet, the hope of salva- 
tion. 

For God hath not appointed 
us to wrath, but to obtain salva- 
tion by our Lord Jesus Christ. 
— I Thess. 5 : i-g. 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
He that heareth my word, and 
believeth on him that sent me, 
hath everlasting life, and shall 
not come into condemnation : 
but is passed from death unto 
life. — John 5 .* 24. 



THE REVELATION 139 

son is obvious : the true church is with the Lord, and 
the mass of Laodicean profession, utterly apostate, is 
no longer even called a church, but ''Babylon/' 

The Laodicean spirit; however, is one of boastfulness, 
of pride in numbers and in the outward apparent pros- 
perity of the church. With all this groundless optimism, 
there is utter blindness to the real unspirituality of the 
mass of professing church-members. ''Because thou say- 
est, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need 
of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, 
and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." 

The result is lukewarmness, and the end rejection by 
the Lord with disgust : ''So then because thou art luke- 
warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of 
my mouth." 

Removing the real believers who have kept His word 
and have not denied His name before the great tribula- 
tion (Rev. 3: 10; 1 Thess. 4: U-l/),^^ the mass of Lao- 
dicean lukewarmness and mere profession is left to its 
horrors. 

^^ Because thou hast kept the upon all the world, to try them 

word of my patience, I also that dwell upon the earth. — 

will keep thee from the hour of Rev. S : lo. 
temptation, which shall come 



X. THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 

TO the Prophet Daniel, the prophet of the ''times of 
the Gentiles/' was given through the angel Ga- 
briel a measure of time from the first year of 
Darius the Mede, first king of the second or 
Medo-Persian world empire (538 B. C.), to the full estab- 
lishment of Messiah's kingdom of heaven (Dan. 9: 1, 20- 
27).^ The measure is given in a series of sevens, and of 
these there are to be seventy (Dan. 9:24). The word 



* In the first year of Darius 
the son of Ahasuerus, of the 
seed of the Medes, which was 
made king over the realm of 
the Chaldeans. . . . 

And whiles I was speaking, 
and praying, and confessing my 
sin and the sin of my people 
Israel, and presenting my sup- 
plication before the Lord my 
God for the holy mountain of 
my God ; 

Yea, whiles I was speaking 
in prayer, even the man Gabriel, 
whom I had seen in the vision 
at the beginning, being caused 
to fly^ swiftly, touched me about 
the time of the evening obla- 
tion. 

And he informed me, and 
talked with me, and said, O 
Daniel, I am now come forth 
to gi\^ thee skill and under- 
standing. 

At the beginning of thy sup- 
plications, the commandment 
came forth, and I am come to 
shew thee; for thou art greatly 
beloved : therefore understand 
the matter, and consider the 
vision. 

Seventy weeks are determined 
upon thy people and upon thy 
holy city, to finish the transgres- 
sion, and to make an end of 



sins, and to make reconcilia- 
tion for iniquity, and to bring 
in everlasting righteousness, and 
to seal up the vision and proph- 
ecy, and to anoint the most 
Holy. 

Know therefore and under- 
stand, that from the going forth 
of the commandment to restore 
and to build Jerusalem unto the 
Messiah the Prince shall he 
seven weeks, and threescore and 
two weeks : the street shall be 
built again, and the wall, even 
in troublous times. 

And after threescore and two 
weeks shall Messiah be cut off, 
but not for himself : and the 
people of the prince that shall 
come shall destroy the city and 
the sanctuary ; and the end 
thereof shall be with a flood, 
and unto the end of the war 
desolations are determined. 

And he shall confirm the cov- 
enant with many for one week : 
and in the midst of the week 
he shall cause the sacrifice and 
the oblation to cease, and for 
the overspreading of abomina- 
tions he shall make it desolate, 
even until the consummation, 
and that determined shall be 
poured upon the desolate. — Dan. 
9 : I, 20-27, 



141 



142 PVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

'"weeks" is not in the original, which speaks only of sev- 
enty sevens. But the process of fulfilment makes it sure 
that 'Sveeks/' that is, weeks of years — seven years to a 
*'week" is right. In other words 490 years of the dealing 
of God with His chosen people were to interpose between 
538 B. C. and the consummation of that dealing in the 
establishment of the kingdom. But the prophecy does 
not say, nor may it be inferred, that the divine dealing is 
to be continuous — that is, without interruption. 

Indeed, certain divisions of the time are distinctly 
announced. There is, first, a period of seven sevens=49 
years during which Jerusalem is to be rebuilt, and this 
was fulfilled as we are told by Ezra and Nehemiah. 
Secondly, there is to be a period of sixty-two sevens 
=434 years *'unto the Messiah'' who is to be *'cut off.'' 
And this also was exactly fulfilled according to Biblical 
chronology. Whatever confusion has existed at that 
point has been due to following the Ptolemaic instead of 
the Biblical chronology, as Anstey in his ''Romance of 
Biblical Chronology" (Association Press, New York 
City) has shown. 

But there is still one final seven, or ''week," to com- 
plete the ''seventy sevens" or 490 years of the divine 
dealing with Daniel's people, "To finish the transgres- 
sion, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconcilia- 
tion for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteous- 
ness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to 
anoint the most Holy [place]." But this consummation 
is Kingdom work, as we know from the abundant testi- 
mony of the Prophets. 

We are, therefore, confronted with the question, Why 
did fulfilment of the seventy weeks' prophecy stop short 
with the cutting off of Messiah at the end of the sixty- 
ninth week? It is the question which any acceptable 
scheme of prophetic interpretation must answer. 

The Biblical answer is to be found in our Lord's reve- 
lation concerning His departure, return, and certain "Mys- 
teries of the kingdom of heaven" (that is, divine secrets 
hitherto hidden, but now revealed) which must be ful- 
filled during His absence. These "mysteries" are gath- 
ered into the thirteenth chapter of Matthew. From 



THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 143 

these it becomes evident that the events of Daniel's last, 
or seventieth *'seven/' that is, seven years, constitute a 
postponed dealing — the seventieth week of seven years 
is cut off, and separated from the sixty-nine; and the 
interval, already of nineteen hundred years' duration, 
is the period during which the two great divine secrets — 
the outcalling of the church, and the mysteries of the 
kingdom of heaven, run their course. Both seem well- 
nigh completed. If this is true, the seventieth week of 
Daniel is upon the very horizon. 

It is significant that our Lord in His great prophetic 
discourse from the Mount of Olives, when he reaches 
the time of the end refers us to Daniel. It is not the 
way of God to discredit His prophets. 

*'When ye therefore shall see the abomination of deso- 
lation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the 
holy place (whoso readeth let him understand,)'' etc. 

Turning, then, to Daniel's ninth chapter we find the 
following : 

*'And after the threescore and tw^o weeks shall the 
anointed one be cut off, and shall have nothing : and the 
people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the 
city and the sanctuary; and the 'end thereof shall be 
with a flood" (v. 26, Revised Version). 

Here we are still on the firm ground of fulfilled proph- 
ecy. After the cutting off of Messiah, fulfilled in the 
crucifixion of Christ, the Romans came against Jeru- 
salem and destroyed city and temple, as predicted by 
Daniel, and by our Lord. But the passage quoted goes 
farther. A '^prince" is to come who is to be ''the Abom- 
ination." And now we know from whence he will come, 
for it was his "people," the Romans, who were the de- 
stroyers. He will not, therefore, be a Russian, or a 
German, for Rome did not then rule those regions; 
neither will he be a Jew. 

And, having mentioned the man w^ho bulks so large in 
all prophecies of the consummation of the age which 
follows the cutting off of Messiah, the Spirit takes Dan- 
iel straight across the centuries to the ''end" — that is to 
say, to the events of the postponed or seventieth week. 



144 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYt 

''And even unto the end shall be war; desolations are 
determined" (v. 26). 

The ''end" in Daniel, as a careful reading of the 
passages will make clear, is not an instant of time, but 
a period of time — the seventieth "week," that is, the 
last seven years of this age. Unto this "end," whatever 
easy optimists may imagine, "shall be war." And so it 
has been from the date of the prophecy of the Seventy 
Weeks, 538 B. C. to this very year — 2,454 years of war! 

Having introduced "the prince that shall come" the 
Seventy Weeks prophecy adds a word as to his doings: 

"And he shall make a firm covenant with many for 
one week" (seven years) : "and in the midst of the 
week" (that is, after three and one-half years) "he shall 
cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease; and upon 
the pinnacle of abominations [that is, 'as the summit 
abomination'] one that maketh desolate; and even unto 
the full end, and that determined, shall wrath be poured 
out upon the desolator" (Dan. 9 : 27). 

This "wrath" our Lord interprets : 

"For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not 
since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor 
ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21). And the supreme, or 
"pinnacle" abomination of the "prince that shall come" 
is something which he does in "the holy place." What 
that pinnacle abomination is we learn from express 
words in 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-10: 

"Now we beseech you, brethren, touching the coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together 
unto him ; to the end that ye be not quickly shaken from 
your mind, nor yet be troubled, either by spirit, or by 
word, or by epistle as from us, as that the day of the 
Lord is just at hand; let no man beguile you in any 
wise: for it will not he, except the falling away come 
first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdi- 
tion, he that opposeth and exalteth himself against all 
that is called God or that is worshipped ; so that he sit- 
teth in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God. 
Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told 
you these things? And now ye know that which re- 
straineth, to the end that he may be revealed in his 



THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 145 

own season. For the mystery of lawlessness doth al- 
ready w^ork : only there is one that restraineth now, until 
he be taken out of the way. And then shall be revealed 
the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the 
breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the mani- 
festation of his coming; even he, whose coming is accord- 
ing to the working of Satan with all power and signs 
and lying wonders, and w^ith all deceit of unrighteous- 
ness for them that perish ; because they received not the 
love of the truth, that they might be saved." 

Daniel's ''prince that shall come," our Lord's ''abom- 
ination,'' and Paul's "man of sin," all refer to the same 
person. He is a ruler, in political sovereignty over 
regions which include Jerusalem., for he m.akes a covenant 
with "many," who can only be unbelieving Jews in Jeru- 
salem, permitting the restoration of the temple service 
("sacrifice and oblation," Dan. 9:27)^ for one "week." 
This covenant he violates in the middle of the week, 
and reaches the "pinnacle" of his abominations by enter- 
ing the holy place of the restored temple and demanding 
human worship. From this time the "great tribulation" 
begins (Matt. 24: 21)^ and runs its awful course of three 
and one-half years — the last half of Daniel's seventieth 
"week" (Dan. 12: 11; Jer. 30:7; Dan. 12: 1; Matt. 24: 
21).^ The last seven years of the present age, then, 

^ And he shall confirm the cov- Alas ! for that day is great, so 

enant with many for one week : that none is like it : it is even 

and in the midst of the week he the time of Jacob's trouble ; but 

shall cause the sacrifice and the he shall be saved out of it. — 

oblation to cease, and for the Jer. so : /. 

overspreading of abominations And at that time shall Michael 

he shall make it desolate, even stand up, the great prince which 

until the consummation, and that standeth for the children of thy 

determined shall be poured upon people : and there shall be a time 

the desolate. — Dan. 9:27. of trouble, such as never was 

* For then shall be great trib- since there w^as a nation even 
ulation, such as w^as not since to that sam.e time : and at that 
the beginning of the world to time thy people shall be deliv- 
this time, no. nor ever shall be. ered, every one that shall be 
' — Matt. 24 : 21. found written in the book. — 

* And from the time that the Dan. 12 : i. 

daily sacrifice shall be taken For then shall be great tribu- 

away, and the abomination that lation, such as was not since the 

maketh desolate set up, there beginning of the world to this 

shall he a thousand two hundred time, nor ever shall be. — Matt. 

and ninety days. — Dan. 12 : 11. 24 : 21. 



146 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



witness the rise, reign, and destruction of the fearful 
being- thus referred to. 

But before the vision of the Seventy Weeks this per- 
sonage has been revealed to Daniel. In the Wild Beast 
Vision of Daniel 7^ he appears as the ^'little horn.'* 



^In the first year of Belshaz- 
zar king of Babylon Daniel had 
a dream and visions of his head 
upon his bed : then he wrote the 
dream, and told the sum of the 
matters. 

Daniel spake and said, I saw 
in my vision by night, and, be- 
hold, the four winds of the 
heaven strove upon the great 
sea. 

And four great beasts came 
up from the sea, diverse one 
from another. 

The first was like a lion, and 
had eagle's wings : I beheld till 
the wings thereof were plucked, 
and it was lifted up from the 
earth, and made stand upon the 
feet as a man, and a man's heart 
was given to it. 

And behold another beast, a 
second, like to a bear, and it 
raised up itself on one side, and 
it had three ribs in the mouth 
of it between the teeth of it : 
and they said thus unto it, Arise, 
devour much flesh. 

After this I beheld, and lo 
another, like a leopard, which 
had upon the back of it four 
wings of a fowl ; the beast had 
also four heads ; and dominion 
was given to it. 

After this I saw in the night 
visions, and behold a fourth 
beast, dreadful and terrible, and 
strong exceedingly ; and it had 
great iron teeth : it devoured and 
brake in pieces, and stamped 
the residue with the feet of it : 
and it zvas diverse from all the 
beasts that were before it ; and 
it had ten horns. 

I considered the horns, and, 
behold, there came up among 
them another little horn, before 
whom there were three of the 
first horns plucked up by the 
roots : and, behold, in this horn 



were eyes like the eyes of man, 
and a mouth speaking great 
things. 

I beheld till the thrones were 
cast down, and the Ancient of 
days did sit, whose garment was 
white as snow, and the hair of 
his head like the pure wool : 
his throne was like the fiery 
flame, and his wheels as burning 
fire. 

A fiery stream issued and came 
forth from before him : thousand 
thousands ministered unto him, 
and ten thousand times ten thou- 
sand stood before him : the 
judgment was set, and the books 
were opened. 

I beheld then because of the 
voice of the great words which 
the horn spake : I beheld even 
till the beast was slain, and his 
body destroyed, and given to the 
burning flame. 

As concerning the rest of the 
beasts, they had their dominion 
taken away : yet their lives were 
prolonged for a season and time. 

I saw in the night visions, 
and, behold, one like the Son 
of man came with the clouds of 
heaven, and came to the Ancient 
of days, and they brought him 
near before him. 

And there was given him do- 
minion, and glory, and a king- 
dom, that all people, nations, and 
languages, should serve him : his 
dominion is an everlasting do- 
minion, which shall not pass 
away, and his kingdom that 
which shall not be destroyed. 

I Daniel was grieved in my 
spirit in the midst of my body, 
and the visions of my head trou- 
bled me. 

I came near unto one of them 
that stood by, and asked him the 
truth of all this. So he told 



THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 



147 



The whole course of the ''times of the Gentiles" (Luke 
21:24),^ which was shown to King Nebuchadnezzar 
as an imposing image, is revealed to Daniel under the 
similitude of four wild beasts, answering to the four 
world empires of the image vision, but exposing the true 
nature of Gentile world-rule as rapacious and insatiable. 
Following the four empires, but in some sense a continua- 
tion, or revival of the fourth, or Roman empire, Daniel 
sees ten kings (7:7, 24) y "And the ten horns out of 
this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise/' But Daniel 
particularly ''would know the truth" concerning a "little 
horn before whom there were three of the first horns 



me, and made me know the in- 
terpretation of the things. 

These great beasts, which are 
four, are four kings, which shall 
arise out of the earth. 

But the saints of the most 
High shall take the kingdom, 
and possess the kingdom for 
ever, even for ever and ever. 

Then I would know the truth 
of the fourth beast, which was 
diverse from all the others, ex- 
ceeding dreadful, whose teeth 
zvere of iron, and his nails of 
brass ; which devoured, brake in 
pieces, and stamped the residue 
with his feet ; 

And of the ten horns that 
were in his head, and of the 
other which came up, and before 
whom three fell ; even of that 
horn that had eyes, and a mouth 
that spake very great things, 
whose look was more stout than 
his fellows. 

I beheld, and the same horn 
made war with the saints, and 
prevailed against them ; 

Until the Ancient of days 
came, and judgment was given 
to the saints of the most High ; 
and the time came that the saints 
possessed the kingdom. 

Thus he said. The fourth beast 
shall be the fourth kingdom 
upon earth, which shall be di- 
verse from all kingdoms, and 
shall devoiir the whole earth, 
and shall tread it down, and 
break it in pieces. 



And the ten horns out of this 
kingdom are ten kings that shall 
arise : and another shall rise 
after them ; and he shall be di- 
verse from the first, and he 
shall subdue three kings. 

And he shall speak great 
words against the most High, 
and shall wear out the saints of 
the most High, and think to 
change times and laws : and they 
shall be given into his hand un- 
til a time and times and the 
dividing of time. 

But the judgment shall sit, 
and they shall take away his do- 
minion, to consume and to de- 
stroy it unto the end. 

And the kingdom and domin- 
ion, and the greatness of the 
kingdom under the whole heav- 
en, shall be given to the people 
of the saints of the most High, 
whose kingdom is an everlast- 
ing kingdom, and all dominions 
shall serve and obey him. 

Hitherto is the end of the 
matter. As for me Daniel, my 
cogitations much troubled me, 
and my countenance changed in 
me : but I kept the matter in 
my heart. — Dan. /. 

^And they shall fall by the 
edge of the sword, and shall be 
led away captive into all na- 
tions : and Jerusalem shall be 
trodden down of the Gentiles, 
until the times of the Gentiles 
be fulfilled. — Luke 21:24. 



148 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAY? 

plucked up by the roots : and, behold, in this horn were 
eyes like the eyes of a man [superior discernment], and 
a mouth speaking great things'' (Dan. 7:8). 

Daniel is answered that the ''little horn" is a king who 
shall arise after the ten kings have begun to reign over 
the ten kingdoms into which the former Roman empire 
shall be divided in the time of the end, ''and he shall 
be diverse from the first [the ten kings], and he shall 
subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words 
against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of 
the most High" (Jews, as that expression shows), and 
the vision ends in the destruction of the "little horn," 
and the establishment of the kingdom of heaven. 

The Revelation, obediently to the command given to 
the Apostle John, to "Write the things w4iich thou hast 
seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall 
be after these'' (Rev. 1:19), falls into three general 
divisions, and these again into sub-divisions. 

The first, or "the things which thou hast seen" is 
chapter 1. "The things which are," the churches in Asia, 
arranged in an order which is prophetic of the whole 
history of the Church on earth, is in chapters 2 and 3. 

It is, however, the third division which bulks largest 
in The Revelation. This division is indicated in the 
command to "write" by the words, "the things which 
shall be after these," that is, after the churches. The 
church period ends with Thyatira (Romanism), Phila- 
delphia (the true believers in the Protestant churches), 
and Laodicea (the mass of mere profession in Prot- 
estantism), in view. In Rome there is a "rest," or 
remnant (Rev. 2 : 24)'^ of true believers. These, together 
with the Philadelphian believers throughout the Prot- 
estant churches, are caught up to meet the Lord in the 
air (John 14:1-3; 1 Cor. 15:51, 52; 1 Thess. 4:14-17; 
Rev. 2:24-29; 4: 1),^ thus leaving on the earth to pass 

^ But unto you I say, and unto ^ Let not your heart be trou- 

the rest in Thyatira, as many as bled : ye believe in God, believe 

have not this doctrine, and also in me. 

which have not known the depths In my Father's house are many 

of Satan, as they speak ; I will mansions : if it were not so, I 

put upon you none other burden. would have told you. I go to 

— Rev. 2 : 24. prepare a place for you. 



THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 



149 



through the great tribulation the mass of mere Christian 
profession, whether Roman or Protestant. Then follows 
(deducting certain parenthetical passages which have 
nothing to do with the narrative) "the things which 
shall be." 

And these are the very things which Daniel foretold 
concerning the end of the ''times of the Gentiles" — the 
end-time of this age. The essential difiference is that 
the Patmos vision enters more into detail. The central 
figure is still the ''prince that shall come," the "Little 
Horn," the "abomination," the "man of sin" ; but here 
he is the "Beast" (Rev. 13: 1-7).^ 



And if I go and prepare a 
place for you, I will come again, 
and receive you unto myself ; 
that where I am, there ye may 
be also. — John 14 : 1-3. 

Behold, I shew you a mys- 
tery ; We shall not all sleep, 
but we shall all be changed, 

In a moment, in the twinkling 
of an eye, at the last trump : 
for the trumpet shall sound, and 
the dead shall be raised in- 
corruptible, and we shall be 
changed. — i Cor. 15 -.51, 52. 

For if we believe that Jesus 
died and rose again, even so 
them also which sleep in Jesus 
will God bring with him. 

For this we say unto you by 
the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive and remain un- 
to the coming of the Lord shall 
not prevent them which are 
asleep. 

For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump 
of God : and the dead in Christ 
shall rise first : 

Then we which are alive and 
remain shall be caught up to- 
gether with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air : 
and so shall we ever be with the 
Lord. — / Thess. 4:14-17. 



But unto you I say, and unto 
the rest in Thyatira, as many 
as have not this doctrine, and 
which have not known the 
depths of Satan, as they speak ; 
I will put upon you none other 
burden. 

But that which ye have al- 
ready hold fast till I come. 

And he that overcometh, and 
keepeth my works unto the end, 
to him will I give power over 
the nations : 

And he shall rule them with 
a rod of iron ; as the vessels of 
a potter shall they be broken to 
shivers : even as I received of 
my Father. 

And I will give him the morn- 
ing star. 

He that hath an ear, let him 
hear what the Spirit saith unto 
the churches. — Rev. 2 : 24-2g. 

^ And I stood upon the sand 
of the sea, and saw a beast rise 
up out of the sea, having seven 
heads and ten horns, and upon 
his horns ten crowns, and upon 
his heads the name of blas- 
phemy. 

And the beast which I saw 
was like unto a leopard, and his 
feet were as the feet of a bear, 
and his mouth as the mouth of 
a lion : and the dragon gave him 
his power, and Jiis seat, and 
great authority. 



150 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



In this great prophetic picture of the end the symbols 
which have already appeared in Daniel, and which have 
there acquired definite meanings, recur. Again we have 
the Gentile world-power in ten kingdoms ; again we have 
these federated into one empire which, as in Daniel 7, 
is itself called ''beast'' (comp. Dan. 7:3, 5, 7; Rev. 
13 : 1-3),^^ and a "beast'' emperor rules over the restored 
"beast" empire (Dan. 7:8; Rev. 13 : 4-8) }^ As in Dan- 



And I saw one of his heads 
as it were wounded to death ; 
and his deadly wound was 
healed : and all the world won- 
dered after the beast. 

And they worshipped the 
dragon which gave power unto 
the beast : and they worshipped 
the beast, saying, Who is like 
unto the beast ? who is able to 
make war with him? 

And there was given unto him 
a mouth speaking great things 
and blasphemies ; and power 
was given unto him to con- 
tinue forty and two months. 

And he opened his mouth in 
blasphemy against God, to blas- 
pheme his name, and his taber- 
nacle, and them that dwell in 
heaven. 

And it was given unto him to 
make war with the saints, and 
to overcome them : and power 
was given him over all kindreds, 
and tongues, and nations. — Rev. 
13 : 1-7. 

^^And four great beasts came 
up from the sea, diverse one 
from another. 

And behold another beast, a 
second, like to a bear, and it 
raised up itself on one side, and 
it had three ribs in the mouth 
of it between the teeth of it : 
and they said thus unto it, 
Arise, devour much flesh. 

After this I saw in the night 
visions, and behold a fourth 
beast, dreadful and terrible, and 
strong exceedingly ; and it had 
great iron teeth : it devoured 
and brake in pieces, and stamped 
the residue with the feet of it : 
and it was diverse from all the 



beasts that were before it ; and 
it had ten horns. — Dan. 7 : 3, 

And I stood upon the sand of 
the sea, and saw a beast rise up 
out of the sea, having seven 
heads and ten horns, and upon 
his horns ten crowns, and upon 
his heads the name of blas- 
phemy. 

And the beast which I saw 
was like unto a leopard, and his 
feet were as the feet of a bear, 
and his mouth as the mouth of 
a lion : and the dragon gave him 
his power, and his seat, and 
great authority. 

And I saw one of his heads 
as it were wounded to death ; 
and his deadly wound was 
healed : and all the world won- 
dered after the beast. — Rev. 

^^ I considered the horns, and, 
behold, there came up among 
them another little horn, before 
whom there were three of the 
first horns plucked up by the 
roots : and, behold, in this horn 
were eyes like the eyes of man, 
and a mouth speaking great 
things. — Dan. 7 : 8. 

And they worshipped the 
dragon which gave power unto 
the beast : and they worshipped 
the beast, saying, Who is like 
unto the beast ? who is able to 
make war with him ? 

And there was given unto 
him a mouth speaking great 
things and blasphemies ; and 
power was given unto him to 
continue forty and two months. 

And he opened his mouth in 
blasphemy against God, to bias- 



THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 



151 



iel the duration of his full power is ''forty and two 
months" (Dan. 7:25; Rev. U:S)P 

The Revelation also gives the full detail of that which 
makes the great tribulation to be a time of unparalleled 
horror. The awful tyranny of the beast, to whom has 
been given over the full power of Satan, and who is 
aided by the antichrist, the *%east" out of the earth (Rev. 
13:2-17),^^ is but one element in that horror. Already 



pheme his name, and his taber- 
nacle, and them that dwell in 
heaven. 

And it was given unto him 
to make war with the saints, and 
to overcome them : and power 
was given him over all kin- 
dreds, and tongues, and nations. 
And all that dwell upon the 
earth shall worship him, whose 
names are not written in the 
book of life of the Lamb slain 
from the foundation of the 
world. — Rev. 13 : 4-8. 

"And he shall speak great 
words against the most High, 
and shall wear out the saints of 
the most High, and think to 
change. — Dan. 7 : 25. 

And there was given unto him 
a mouth speaking great things 
and blasphemies; and power 
was given unto him to continue 
forty and two months. — Rev. 

13 ■ 5. 

^^ And the beast which I saw 
was like unto a leopard, and 
his feet were as the feet of a 
bear, and his mouth as the 
mouth of a lion : and the dragon 
gave him his power, and his 
seat, and great authority. 

And I saw one of his heads 
as it were wounded to death ; 
and his deadly wound was 
healed : and all the world won- 
dered after the beast. 

And they worshipped the 
dragon which gave power unto 
the beast : and they worshipped 
the beast, saying, Who is like 
unto the beast? who is able to 
make war with him ? 

And there was given unto him 
a mouth speaking great things 
and blasphemies ; and power 



was given unto him to continue 
forty and two months. 

And he opened his mouth in 
blasphemy against God, to blas- 
pheme his name, and his taber- 
nacle, and them that dwell in 
heaven. 

And it was given unto him 
to make war v/ith the saints, and 
to overcome them : and power 
was given him over all kin- 
dreds, and tongues, and nations. 

And all that dwell upon the 
earth shall worship him, whose 
names are not written in the 
book of life of the Lamb slain 
from the foundation of the 
world. 

If any man have an ear, let 
him hear. 

He that leadeth into captivity 
shall go into captivity : he that 
killeth with the sword must be 
killed v/ith the sword. Here is 
the patience and the faith of 
the saints. 

And I beheld another beast 
coming up out of the earth ; and 
he had two horns like a lamb, 
and he spake as a dragon. 

And he exerciseth all the 
power of the first beast before 
him, and causeth the earth and 
them which dwell therein to 
worship the first beast, whose 
deadly wound was healed. 

And he doeth great wonders, 
so that he maketh fire come 
down from heaven on the earth 
in the sight of men, 

And deceiveth them that dwell 
on the earth by the means of 
those miracles which he had 
power to do in the sight of the 
beast ; saying to them that dwell 
on the earth, that they should 



152 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



the "trumpet" judgments are in the earth, and now, at 
the beginning of the last half of Daniel's seventieth 
"week" of this age — the three and one-half years of the 
great tribulation — the seven 'Vials of the wrath of God" 
(Rev. 16: 1-21)^^ are poured out ''upon the earth/' And 



make an image to the beast, 
which had the wound by a 
sword, and did live. 

And he had power to give 
life unto the image of the beast, 
that the image of the beast 
should both speak, and cause 
that as many as would not wor- 
ship the image of the beast 
should be killed. 

And he causeth all, both small 
and great, rich and poor, free 
and bond, to receive a mark in 
their right hand, or in their fore- 
heads : 

And that no man might buy 
or sell, save he that had the 
mark, or the name of the beast, 
or the number of his name. — 
Rev. 13 : 2-17. 

" And I heard a great voice 
out of the temple saying to the 
seven angels, Go your ways, and 
pour out the vials of the wrath 
of God upon the earth. 

And the first went, and poured 
out his vial upon the earth ; and 
there fell a noisome and griev- 
ous sore upon the men which 
had the mark of the beast, and 
upon them which worshipped his 
image. 

And the second angel poured 
out his vial upon the sea ; and it 
became as the blood of a dead 
man : and every living soul died 
in the sea. 

And the third angel poured out 
his vial upon the rivers and 
fountains of waters ; and they 
became blood. 

And I heard the angel of the 
waters say. Thou art righteous, 
O Lord, which art, and wast, and 
shalt be, because thou hast 
judged thus. 

For they have shed the blood 
of saints and prophets, and thou 
hast given them blood to drink ; 
for they are worthy. 



And I heard another out of 
the altar say, Even so. Lord God 
Almighty, true and righteous are 
thy judgments. 

And the fourth angel poured 
out his vial upon the sun ; and 
power was given unto him to 
scorch men with fire. 

And men were scorched with 
great heat, and blasphemed the 
name of God, which hath power 
over these plagues : and they re- 
pented not to give him glory. 

And the fifth angel poured out 
his vial upon the seat of the 
beast ; and his kingdom was full 
of darkness ; and they gnawed 
their tongues for pain. 

And blasphemed the God of 
heaven because of their pains 
and their sores, and repented 
not of their deeds. 

And the sixth angel poured 
out his vial upon the great nver 
Euphrates ; and the water there- 
of was dried up, that the way 
of the kings of the east might 
be prepared. 

And I saw three unclean spir- 
its like frogs come out of the 
mouth of the dragon, and out 
of the mouth of the beast, and 
out of the mouth of the false 
prophet. 

For they are the spirits of 
devils, working miracles, which 
go forth unto the kings of the 
earth and of the whole world, to 
gather them to the battle of that 
great day of God Almighty. 

Behold, I come as a thief. 
Blessed is he that watcheth, and 
keepeth his garments, lest he 
walk naked, and they see his 
shame. 

And he gathered them togeth- 
er into a place called in the 
Hebrew tongue Armageddon. 

And the seventh angel poured 
out his vial into the air; and 



THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 153 

in this fact alone, that the great tribulation is a mani- 
festation of the wrath of God upon the earth, is proof 
conclusive that the church is no longer on earth, for the 
church is not ''appointed unto wrath/' 

It must be remembered that these judgments upon the 
earth and the nations have nothing to do with individuals, 
as such. World-powers are creatures of time, as national 
organizations are mere human arrangements. If, there- 
fore, they are amenable to the justice of God at all, their 
judgment must come, not in eternity, but in time. They 
fall during the great tribulation. 

To all this is added *'the spirits of demons, working 
miracles'' (Rev. 16: 14; comp. 2 Thess. 2:9, 10) .^^ 

A complete view of the end-time of the age must 
include, besides the reconstruction of the Roman empire 
in ten kingdoms federated under the Beast-emperor, the 
religious organization called in the Apocalypse, ''Baby- 
lon." It will be Laodicea and Thyatira — Protestantism 
and Romanism after the true believers out of both have 
been caught up to meet the Lord in the air ( 1 Thess. 4 : 14- 
17).^ Baby lon= "confusion" is the mingling of both 
in one great world-church. Many voices of influence are 
pleading now for such a union — the sacrifice of truth 
to seeming expediency. It is the Beast and his asso- 



there came a great voice out of ent : and men blasphemxcd God 

the temple of heaven, from the because of the plague of the 

throne, saying, It is done. hail ; for the plague thereof was 

And there were voices, and exceeding great. — Rev. i6 : 1-21. 

thunders, and lightnings; and 15 poj. ^hey are the spirits of 

there was a great earthquake, devils, working miracles, which 

such as was not since men were f^^th unto the kings of the 

upon the earth, so mighty an ^^^^-^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^ ^^^.j^ 

earthquake, and so great. .^ ^^^.u^^ irU^^ ^^ ^v.^ k^^+i^ ^-p 

And the great city was divid- \? ^^^^^\ ^j^^^ ^ V / ai • 1 . 

ed into three parts, and the cit- that great day of God Almignty. 

ies of the nations fell : and great — ^^^- ^^ ' ^^' 

Babylon came in remembrance Even hi,m, whose coming is 

before God, to give unto her the after the working of Satan with 

cup of the wine of the fierce- all power and signs and lying 

ness of his wrath. wonders, 

And every island fled away, And with all deceivableness 

and the mountains were not of unrighteousness in them that 

found. perish ; because they received not 

And there fell upon men a the love of the truth, that they 

great hail out of heaven, every might be saved. — 2 Thess. 2: 

stone about the weight of a tal- 9, 10. 



154 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



ciated kings who turn upon and rend ''Babylon." The 
Beast will brook no rival worship, even though it be but 
a form (Rev. 17:1-18; 18: 1-24) .^^ 

^^And there came one of the 
seven angels which had the sev- 
en vials, and talked with me, 
saying unto me, Come hither ; I 
will shew unto thee the judg- 
ment of the great whore that 
sitteth upon many waters : 

With whom the kings of the 
earth have committed fornica- 
tion, and the inhabitants of the 
earth have been made drunk 
with the wine of her fornication. 

So he carried me away in the 
spirit into the wilderness : and I 
saw a woman sit upon a scarlet 
coloured beast, full of names of 
blasphemy, having seven heads 
and ten horns. 

And the woman was arrayed 
in purple and scarlet colour, and 
decked with gold and precious 
stones and pearls, having a gold- 
en cup in her hand full of abom- 
inations and filthiness of her 
fornication : 

And upon her forehead zuas a 
name written, MYSTERY, BAB- 
YLON THE GREAT, THE 
MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND 
ABOMINATIONS OF THE 
EARTH. 

And I saw the woman drunk- 
en with the blood of the saints, 
and with the blood of the mar- 
tyrs of Jesus : and when I saw 
her, T wondered with great ad- 
miration. 

And the angel said unto me, 
Wherefore didst thou marvel? 
I will tell thee the mystery of 
the woman, and of the beast that 
carrieth her, which hath the 
seven heads and ten horns. 

The beast that thou sawest 
was, and is not ; and shall as- 
cend out of the bottomless pit, 
and go into perdition : and they 
that dwell on the earth shall 
wonder, whose names were not 
written in the book of life from 
the foundation of the world, 
when they behold the beast that 
v/as, and is not, and yet is. 



And here is the mind which 
hath wisdom. The seven heads 
are seven mountains, on which 
the woman sitteth. 

And there are seven kings : 
five are fallen, and one is, and 
the other is not yet come ; and 
when he cometh, he must con- 
tinue a short space. 

And the beast that was, and 
is not, even he is the eighth, and 
is of the seven, and goeth into 
perdition. 

And the ten horns which thou 
sawest are ten kings, which have 
received no kingdom as yet ; but 
receive power as kings one hour 
with the beast. 

These have one mind, and 
shall give their power and 
strength unto the beast. 

These shall make war with the 
Lamb, and the Lamb shall over- 
come them : for he is Lord of 
lords, and King of kings : and 
they that are with him are called, 
and chosen, and faithful. 

And he saith unto me. The 
waters which thou sawest, where 
the whore sitteth, are peoples, 
and multitudes, and nations, and 
tongues. 

And the ten horns which thou 
sawest upon the beast, these shall 
hate the whore, and shall make 
her desolate and naked, and shall 
eat her flesh, and burn her with 
fire. 

For God hath put in their 
hearts to fulfil his will, and to 
agree, and to give their king- 
dom unto the beast, until the 
words of God shall be fulfilled. 

And the woman which thou 
sawest is that great city, which 
reigneth over the kings of the 
earth. — Rev. 17:1-18. 

And after these things I saw 
another angel come down from 
heaven, having great power ; and 
the earth was lightened with his 
glory. 



THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 



155 



And he cried mightily with a 
strong voice, saying, Babylon the 
great is fallen, and is become the 
habitation of devils, and the 
hold of every foul spirit, and a 
cage of every unclean and hate- 
ful bird. 

For all nations have drunk of 
the wine of the wrath of her 
fornication, and the kings of the 
earth have committed fornica- 
tion with her, and the merchants 
of the earth are waxed rich 
through the abundance of her 
delicacies. 

And I heard another voice 
from heaven, saying. Come out 
of her, my people, that ye be 
not partakers of her sins, and 
that ye receive not of her 
plagues. 

For her sins have reached unto 
heaven, and God hath remem- 
bered her iniquities. 

Reward her even as she re- 
warded you, and double unto her 
double according to her works : 
in the cup which she hath filled 
fill to her double. 

How much she hath glorified 
herself, and lived deliciously, so 
much torment and sorrow give 
her : for she saith in her heart, 
I sit a queen, and am no widow, 
and shall see no sorrow. 

Therefore shall her plagues 
come in one day, death, and 
mourning, and famine ; and she 
shall be utterly burned with fire : 
for strong is the Lord God who 
judgeth her. 

And the kings of the earth, 
who have committed fornication 
and lived deliciously with her, 
shall bewail her, and lament for 
her, when they shall see the 
smoke of her burning. 

Standing afar off for the fear 
of her torment, saying, Alas, 
alas that great city Babylon, 
that mighty city ! for in one hour 
is thy judgment come. 

And the merchants of the 
earth shall weep and mourn over 
her; for no man buyeth their 
merchandise any more : 

The merchandise of gold, and 
silver, and precious stones, and 



of pearls, and fine linen, and 
purple, and silk, and scarlet, and 
all thyine wood, and all manner 
vessels of ivory, and all manner 
vessels of most precious wood, 
and of brass, and iron, and 
marble, 

And cinnamon, and odours, 
and ointments, and frankincense, 
and wine, and oil, and fine flour, 
and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, 
and horses, and chariots, and 
slaves, and souls of men. 

And the fruits that thy soul 
lusted after are departed from 
thee, and all things which were 
dainty and goodly are departed 
from thee, and thou shalt find 
them no more at all. 

The merchants of these things, 
which were made rich by her, 
shall stand afar off for the fear 
of her torment, weeping and 
wailing. 

And saying, Alas, alas that 
great city, that was clothed in 
fine linen, and purple, and scar- 
let, and decked with gold, and 
precious stones, and pearls ! 

For in one hour so great 
riches is come to nought. And 
every shipmaster, and all the 
company in ships, and sailors, 
and as many as trade by sea, 
stood afar off, 

And cried when they saw the 
smoke of her burning, saying. 
What city is like unto this great 
city ! 

And they cast dust on their 
heads, and cried, weeping and 
wailing, saying, Alas, alas that 
great city wherein were made 
rich all that had ships in the 
sea by reason of her costliness ! 
for in one hour is she made 
desolate. 

Rejoice over her, thou heaven, 
and ye holy apostles and proph- 
ets ; for God hath avenged you 
on her. 

And a mighty angel took up 
a stone like a great millstone, 
and cast it into the sea, saying. 
Thus with violence shall that 
great city Babylon be thrown 
down, and shall be found no 
more at all. 



156 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



But quite apart from ''Babylon" there will be at the 
end-time a true testimony to God and to his Christ in 
the earth. These true witnesses come into view in the 
seventh chapter of the Revelation. A Jewish remnant 
is first revealed as sealed, and after that ''a great multi- 
tude, which no man could number, of all nations, and 
kindreds, and people, and tongues," are seen. In verse 
14 it is definitely stated that, "these are they which 
came out of the great tribulation." 

The very last of the last days of this age are involved 
in some measure of obscurity in the prophecy. Possibly 
this is the appointed method of impressing our minds 
with the fact that the times of the Gentiles and this 
present age end in a whirlwind of confusion. Putting 
together the passages in the Old Testament prophets 
which evidently relate to the Great Tribulation and 
Armageddon (Jer. 30:4-7; Dan. 12:1; Matt. 24:21; 
Joel 2:11; Isa. 10:28; 29:3; Micah 1:6; Joel 3:9; 
Rev. 18: 11-21), ^"^^ ^^ and the passages in the New Testa- 



And the voice of harpers, and 
musicians, and of pipers, and 
trumpeters, shall be heard no 
more at all in thee ; and no 
craftsman, of whatsoever craft 
he be, shall be found any more 
in thee ; and the sound of a mill- 
stone shall be heard no more at 
all in thee ; 

And the light of a candle shall 
shine no more at all in thee ; and 
the voice of the bridegroom and 
of the bride shall be heard no 
more at all in thee : for thy 
merchants were the great men 
of the earth ; for by thy sor- 
ceries were all nations deceived. 

And in her was found the 
blood of prophets, and of saints, 
and of all that were slain upon 
the earth. — Rev. i8 : 1-24. 

"And these are the words 
that the Lord spake concerning 
Israel and concerning Judah. 

For thus saith the Lord ; We 
have heard a voice of trembling, 
of fear, and not of peace. 

Ask ye now, and see whether 
a man doth travail with child? 
wherefore do I see every man 



with his hands on his loins, as 
a woman in travail, and all faces 
are turned into paleness? 

Alas ! for that day is great, 
so that none is like it : it is 
even the time of Jacob's trouble ; 
but he shall be saved out of it. 
— Jer. so : 4-7. 

And at that time shall Michael 
stand up, the great prince which 
standeth for the children of thy 
people : and there shall be a 
time of trouble, such as never 
was since there was a nation 
eve7i to that same time : and at 
that time thy people shall be 
delivered, every one that shall 
be found written in the book. — 
Dan. 12 : i. 

For then shall be great tribu- 
lation, such as was not since 
the beginning of the world to 
this time, no, nor ever shall be. 
— Matt. 24: 21. 

And the Lord shall utter his 
voice before his army : for his 
camp is very great : for he is 
strong that executeth his word : 
for the day of the Lord is great 



THE LAST SEVEN YEARS OF THE AGE 157 

ment covering the same ground, so much may be dis- 
cerned : 

'^Babylon/' the apostate world-church, has been de- 
stroyed by the civil power headed up in the Emperor- 
Beast. Life is allowed no conditions of prosperity apart 
from the worship of the Beast and his image (Rev. 13: 
16, 17).^^ There is another ecclesiastical despotism, for 
all power is bestowed upon the Antichrist, the "false 
prophet/' that all may be compelled to worship the Beast 
(Rev. 13: 12).^^ The saints of Revelation 7, especially 
the Remnant sealed out of all the tribes, who have turned 
to Jesus as the Messiah, are terribly persecuted. 

There is an invasion of the holy land from the North. 
The words ''Gog and Magog/' with geographical desig- 
nations which seem to warrant that conclusion (Ezek. 
38:2),^^ have been well-nigh universally held to indicate 
that Russia heads this invasion. It is far from impos- 
sible that Japan and perhaps China swell the invading 
host. The Beast and his power seem to be, at first, the 
objects of the invasion. The hosts approach Jerusalem 

and very terrible ; and who can ^ And he causeth all, both 

abide it? — Joel 2:11. small and great, rich and poor, 

He is come to Aiath, he is free and bond, to receive a mark 

passed to Migron ; at Michmash in their right hand, or in their 

he hath laid up his carriages. — foreheads : 

^^^' ^^L^^' . , And that no man might buy 

And I will camp against thee ^^ ^^jj^ ^^^.^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^ 

round about, and will lay siege ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^ ^^^^^^ 

against thee with a mount, and ^^ ^^^ number of his name.— 

I will raise forts against thee. — ^^„, i^- 16 17 

Isa. 29: 3. 

Therefore I will make Sama- ''And he exerciseth all the 

ria as an heap of the field, and power of the first beast before 

as plantings of a vineyard : and bim, and causeth the earth and 

I will pour down the stones them which dwell therein to 

thereof into the valley, and I worship the first beast, whose 

will discover the foundations deadly wound was healed. — 

thereof.— M/caTr 1:6, ^^^- 13:12. 

Proclaim ye this among the ^ Son of man, set thy face 

Gentiles ; Prepare war, wake up against Gog, the land of Magog, 

the mighty men, let all the men the chief prince of Meshech and 

of war draw near; let them come Tubal, and prophesy against him. 

up. — Joel J .'p. — Enek. 38: 2. 



158 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

(Isa. 10: 28-34).^^ It is then that the obscurity deepens, 
for in the final scene the Beast and False Prophet with 
their armies fight with the invaders against the heavenly 
armies led by Messiah in glory. This is Armageddon. 
It is the end not only of the Beast and his system, but 
of all Gentile world power. It is possible that signs in 
the heavens impress both the invaders and the Beast, 
driving them into a sudden confederacy against God, As 
to the fact that the end of Gentile supremacy has come 
there is no obscurity. The earth-scene is now cleared for 
the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. 

^^ He is come to Aiath, he is As yet shall he remain at 

passed to Migron ; at Michmash Nob that day : he shall shake his 

he hath laid up his carriages : hand against the mount of the 

They are gone over the pas- daughter of Zion, the hill of 

sage: they have taken up their -^^^^^i^ i?*'., t j .i. t j ir 

lodging at Geba ; Ramah is , Behold, the Lord, the Lord of 

afraid ; Gibeah of Saul is fled. J^^sts, shall lop the bough with 

_ _ , . ^ , , terror: and the high ones of 

Lift up thy voice, O daughter stature shall be hewn down, and 

of Galhm : cause it to be heard the haughty shall be humbled, 

unto Laish, O poor Anathoth. And he shall cut down the 

Madmenah is removed ; the in- thickets of the forest with iron, 

habitants of Gebim gather them- and Lebanon shall fall by a 

selves to flee. mighty one. — Isa. lo : 28-34. 



XL EARTH'S GOLDEN AGE 

THERE is a deathless thing in the heart of human- 
ity. Sometimes there is with it the dull pain of 
disappointed expectation. A panacea for earth's 
ills has been tried and failed. Sometimes it finds 
speech : ''How long, O Lord, how long !" Sometimes it is 
a cry out of the darkness ; sometimes it glows with faith. 

It is the belief that there must yet be for humanity on 
this earth a life, a corporate, ordered life, a life not for 
a few fortunate and powerful ones, but a life for all 
which shall be rich in truth, justice, power, and love. 
No dateless centuries of lies, injustice, weakness, and 
hate have been able to extinguish that thing in the heart 
of humanity. 

And now and again men thoughtful and wise have 
striven to give form to it^ — to say what it is for which 
the heart of humanity aches and longs ; and Plato writes 
his ''Republic," and Campanella his *'City of the Sun," 
and Sir Thomas More his "Utopia," and Bacon his 
"New Atlantis," and Harrington his "Oceana." And 
when they have written, time counts out the days and 
years and they are still as before years of war, of the 
ruthless reign of the strong over the weak, of the delu- 
sions of a shallow optimism which shuts its eyes to 
realities. Such "optimists" patter of peace when there 
is no peace, and will not see that the evils from which 
the philosophers would save us are all as old as the race. 

There is absolutely no mystery about these evils. The 
oldest brick dug from a Mesopotamian mound bears 
the same record of ambition, pride, greed, which are 
making the history of to-day. And we turn from the 
beautiful dreams of Plato and the others knowing only 
too well how impossible they are of accomplishment, 
how certainly even if once established they w^ould be 
doomed by the rise of the superman, or the craft of the 
powerful few. 

159 



160 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

And not only are the facts unchanged, but we are 
absokitely at the end of our resources. Every method 
whereby the race has sought to realize the deathless 
vision has been tried to the dregs, and has failed. Forms 
of government from despotism to democracy; educa- 
tion — it is the most educated of the nations which to-day 
are engaged in the most brutal of wars; legislation; 
even ''religion/' have left the world-factors unchanged. 

The futility of the ideal commonwealths of Plato and 
the others is precisely the futility of all superficial op- 
timism — the notion that for the common good men are 
going to give up ambition, greed, and pride. We read 
their Utopias with a little sadness. 

The race, after all, is one ; and it is a kind of corporate 
logic which keeps the hope of a golden age alive in the 
universal human mind. It is the conviction, vague and 
undefined but real, that the divine wisdom and power 
in the human experiment requires a majestic vindica- 
tion — a vindication that can only come through a reign 
of righteousness and love in the human social order. 

Why should it be thought incredible that God, who 
recreated the earth and set man in it with full authority 
over the works of His hands, should return, at the end 
of the immense drama of human history, to His original 
thought and purpose? It is forgotten too easily that 
there is a ''second man,'' another and a "last Adam." 
Might it not be well to ask. Why a "second" man? Why 
another ''Adam''? and to demand an answer in larger 
terms than theology has ever found — an answer of cosmic 
breadth and o-randeur. 

And this, precisely, is the answer of Scripture. Not 
in Plato, nor in the Yedas, as Max Muller thought, still 
less in Hesiod, are we to look for the true theogony of 
the race — the solution of the pathetic effort, ever fore- 
doomed to tragic failure, of the race to achieve its own 
destiny in that which Paul magnificently calls "the lib- 
erty of the glory of the sons of God" (Rom. 8: 21).^ 

^ Because the creature itself glorious liberty of the children 
also shall be delivered from the of God. — Rom, 8: 21, 
bondage of corruption into the 



EARTH'S GOLDEN AGE 161 

For that which is an intellectual ideal, an inner urge 
toward the perfected social order in the mind of the 
race, and has sought expression in the Utopias, stands 
boldly forth in Scripture as a revealed purpose of God. 
The golden age is made sure by the covenants and prom- 
ises of the Almighty. 

Doubtless the whole subject has been made an offense 
to many sincere and well-meaning students of the Bible 
by the too exclusively Jewish conception of the ''age to 
come'' in controversies over it. 

That the coming age is to fulfil the Davidic Covenant 
of the earth-rule of Messiah, as explained by the Proph- 
ets and confirmed by the oath of Jehovah and the mes- 
sage through Gabriel, is most true. But the New Testa- 
ment lifts the work and purpose of the age to come 
into a breadth and majesty far beyond the promises to 
Israel, while including — nay, resting upon, those prom- 
ises. For the thought and word of God have ever an 
inner and vaster content than appears upon the surface. 
There are perpetual surprises in the interpretation of 
Scripture by Scripture as the student follow^s the pro- 
gressive unfolding of the Divine will. 

The Davidic Covenant is indeed to be fulfilled in the 
age to come, but a vastly grander thing is fulfilled — the 
destiny of the race. 

The testimony of Scripture to this great consumma- 
tion may be summarized as follows : 

It is well to remember that all the answers to ques- 
tions concerning an age to come must be drawn from 
the Scriptures. If there is to be yet another age, or 
period of time marked oflf for a special dealing of God 
with the human race, our only possible source of knowl- 
edge about it is the Bible. 

The traditional teaching, in which Protestant theology 
follows that of Rome, affirms a complete conversion of 
the world in this present age through the preaching of 
the Gospel by the church, followed by the return of 
Christ, the resurrection of the dead, the judgment of 
the ''great white throne,'' and the eternal state. 

But this present age is described by our Lord in terms 
which absolutely exclude the possibility of a universal 



162 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



conversion. Wheat and tares grow together till the 
harvest, and the tares are not merely unsaved men in 
the world, but unsaved men within the very sphere of 
profession — ''among the wheat/' So like to true behevers 
are they that the ''servants'' cannot be trusted to ''root 
them up." Good fish and bad are together in the very 
gospel net. And it is distinctly stated that the "harvest 
is the end of the age" (Matt. 13:28-30, 37-43, 49, 50) .^ 
To the same purport is the picture of the present age 
and of its end in the parables of the end-time, which is 
likened to Sodom and Gomorrah, and to the Flood. 

But especially in the Olivet discourse (Matt. 24:1- 
30)^ our Lord addresses Himself to the very task of 



* He said unto them, An ene- 
my hath done this. The serv- 
ants said unto him, Wilt thou 
then that we go and gather 
them up? 

But he said, Nay ; lest while 
ye gather up the tares, ye root 
up also the wheat with them. 

Let both grow together until 
the harvest : and in the time of 
harvest I will say to the reapers, 
Gather ye together first the tares, 
and bind them in bundles to 
burn them : but gather the wheat 
into my barn. — Matt. 13 : 28-30. 

He answered and said unto 
them, He that soweth the good 
seed is the Son of man ; 

The field is the world ; the 
good seed are the children of the 
kingdom ; but the tares are the 
children of the wicked one; 

The enemy that sowed them 
is the devil ; the harvest is the 
end of the world ; and the reap- 
ers are the angels. 

As therefore the tares are 
gathered and burned in the fire ; 
so shall it be in the end of this 
world. 

The Son of man shall send 
forth his angels, and they shall 
gather out of his kingdom all 
things that offend, and them 
which do iniquity ; 

And shall cast them into a 
furnace of fire : there shall be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth. 



Then shall the righteous shine 
forth as the sun in the kingdom 
of their Father. Who hath ears 
to hear, let him hear. — Matt. 13 : 
37-43- 

So shall it be at the end of 
the world : the angels shall come 
forth, and sever the wicked from 
among the just, 

And shall cast them into the 
furnace of fire : there shall be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth. — 
Matt. 13 : 49, 50. 

* And Jesus went out, and de- 
parted from the temple : and his 
disciples came to him for to 
shew him the buildings of the 
temple. 

And Jesus said unto them, 
See ye not all these things? ver- 
ily I say unto you, There shall 
not be left here one stone upon 
another, that shall not be thrown 
down. 

And as he sat upon the mount 
of Olives, the disciples came 
unto him privately, saying. Tell 
us, when shall these things be? 
and what shall be the sign of 
thy coming, and of the end of 
the world ? 

And Jesus answered and said 
unto them, Take heed that no 
man deceive you. 

For many shall come in my 
name, saying, I am Christ ; and 
shall deceive many. 



EARTH'S GOLDEN AGE 



163 



describing the age, its end, and the events following 
the end. Wars, pestilences, famines, false Christs, and 
persecutions go through the age and rise to their most 
awful potency in the end, which is the "great tribu- 
lation." 



And ye shall hear of wars 
and rumours of wars : see that 
ye be not troubled : for all these 
things must come to pass, but 
the end is not yet. 

For nation shall rise against 
nation, and kingdom against 
kingdom : and there shall be 
famines, and pestilences, and 
earthquakes, in divers places. 

All these are the beginning of 
sorrows. 

Then shall they deliver you up 
to be afflicted, and shall kill you : 
and ye shall be hated of all na- 
tions for my name's sake. 

And then shall many be of- 
fended, and shall betray one an- 
other, and shall hate one an- 
other. 

And many false prophets shall 
rise, and shall deceive many. 

And because iniquity shall 
abound, the love of many shall 
wax cold. 

But he that shall endure unto 
the end, the same shall be saved. 

And this gospel of the king- 
dom shall be preached in all the 
world for a witness unto all na- 
tions ; and then shall the end 
come. 

When ye therefore shall see 
the abomination of desolation, 
spoken of by Daniel the proph- 
et, stand in the holy place, (who- 
so readeth, let him understand :) 

Then let them which be in 
Judaea flee into the mountains : 

Let him which is on the house- 
top not come down to take any- 
thing^ out of his house : 

Neither let him which is in 
the field return back to take his 
clothes. 

And woe unto them that are 
with child, and to them that give 
suck in those days ! 



But pray ye that your flight 
be not in the winter, neither on 
the sabbath day : 

For then shall be great tribu- 
lation, such as was not since the 
beginning of the world to this 
time, no, nor ever shall be. 

And except those days should 
be shortened, there should no 
flesh be saved : but for the 
elect's sake those days shall be 
shortened. 

Then if any man shall say 
unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or 
there ; believe it not. 

For there shall arise false 
Christs, and false prophets, and 
shall shew great signs and won- 
ders ; insomuch that, if it were 
possible, they shall deceive the 
very elect. 

Behold, I have told you be- 
fore. 

Wherefore if they shall say 
unto you. Behold, he is in the 
desert ; go not forth : behold, he 
is in the secret chambers ; be- 
lieve it not. 

For as the lightning cometh 
out of the east, and shineth even 
unto the west ; so shall also the 
coming of the Son of man be. 

For wheresoever the carcase 
is, there will the eagles be gath- 
ered together. 

Immediately after the tribu- 
lation of those days shall the 
sun be darkened, and the moon 
shall not give her light, and the 
stars shall fall from heaven, and 
the powers of the heavens shall 
be shaken : 

And then shall appear the sign 
of the Son of man in heaven : 
and then shall all the tribes of 
the earth mourn, and they shall 
see the Son of man coming in 
the clouds of heaven with power 
and great glory. — Matt. 24 : 1-30. 



164 WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 

The agencies are indeed present in this age in the 
Gospel of the grace of God, and the convicting, regen- 
erating and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, which, 
if received by faith, w^ould save every soul of man. 
But faith is not compulsory, and nigh two thousand 
years of preaching have demonstrated that as the age 
began w^ith an outcalling from among the Gentiles of 
''a people for his name'' (Acts 15: 14)^ so it has gone 
on. Glorious victories have been w^on for Christ, but 
never, anywhere, have all the hearers been converted. 
The age ends in catastrophe, in Armageddon, in the 
return of the Lord in glory, in the judgment of living 
Gentile nations preparatory to the kingdom, in the re- 
gathering of dispersed Israel, and the re-establishment 
of the Davidic monarchy in the person of Jesus Christ 
the Son of David (Matt. 1:1; Luke 1:30-33; Acts 
15:14-17).^ The Scripture testimony concerning the 
age to come may be thus summarized : 

1. Such an age is definitely foretold in the following 
Scriptures: Matthew 12:32; Mark 10:30, with Luke 
18:30; Luke 20:35; Ephesians 1:21; Hebrews 6:5.« 

* Simeon hath declared how tiles, to take out of them a peo- 

God at the first did visit the pie for his name. 

Gentiles, to take out of them a And to this agree the words 

people for his name. — Acts 15: of the prophets; as it is written, 

14. ^ After this I will return, and 

^ The book of the generation will build again the tabernacle 

of Jesus Christ, the son of Da- of David, which is fallen down; 

vid, the son of Abraham. — Matt. and I will build again the ruins 

I : I. thereof, and I will set it up : 

And the angel said unto her, That the residue of men might 

Fear not, Mary : for thou hast seek after the Lord, and all the 

found favour with God. Gentiles, upon whom m.y name is 

And, behold, thou shalt con- called, saith the Lord, who do- 

ceive in thy womb, and bring eth all these things. — Acts 15 ■ 

forth a son, and shalt call his 14-17- 

name JESUS. ^ And whosoever speaketh a 

He shall be great, and shall word against the Son of man. 

be called the son of the High- it shall be forgiven him : but 

est : and the Lord God shall give whosoever speaketh against the 

unto him the throne of his fath- Holy Ghost, it shall not be for- 

er David : given him, neither in this world, 

And he shall reign over the neither in the world to come. — 

house of Jacob for ever; and of Matt. 12: 32. 

his kingdom there shall be no But he shall receive an hun- 

end. — Luke i : 30-33. dredfold now in this time, 

Simeon hath declared how God houses, and brethren, and sis- 

at the first did visit the Gen- ters, and mothers, and children, 



EARTH'S GOLDEN AGE 165 

In all these passages the Greek aion, transliterated by 
the English word eon, is translated in the Authorized 
Version by the word ''world." It never means ''world/' 
but invariably, in Scripture as in classical Greek, means 
''age, dispensation/' So any lexicon. So, also, any 
authoritative English dictionary definition of eon. Ben- 
gel truly says : "The horologe of earth is no measure 
for the eonloge of heaven/' 

2. The age to come is introduced by the return of 
the Lord in power and glory. He is accompanied by 
the sons of God, also in glory. These sons of God are 
they who have "received him" during this age (John 
1: 12, I3)y'^ and who, if sleeping were raised in bodies 
"like unto his glorious body" (Phil. 3 : 20, 21),^ if living, 
"changed" into the same likeness (1 Cor. 15:51, 52)^ 
and caught up "to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thess. 
4: 14-17),^^ before the great tribulation, that "hour of 
temptation which shall come upon all the world" (Rev. 
3 : 10) . Four events mark the beginning of the age 
to come. (1) The taking up of the church to meet the 
Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4: 14-17). ^^ (2) The judg- 

and lands, with persecutions ; of the will of man, but of God. 

and in the world to come eter- — John i : 12, 13. 

nal life. — Mark 10 : 30. « For our conversation is in 

Who shall not receive mam- heaven; from whence also we 

fold more in this present tirne, look for the Saviour, the Lord 

and in the world to come life Jesus Christ : 

tveT\astmg.--Luke 18: jo. ^j^^ ^^^iJ ^j^ange our vile 

But they which shall be ac- ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^ fashioned 

counted worthy to obtain that Hke unto his glorious body, ac- 

world, and the resurrection from cording to the working whereby 

tne dead, neither marry nor are j^e is able even to subdue all 

given in marriage—Lw^^ ^0.55- things unto himself.— PAi7. 5; 

Far above all principality, ,^ J^ 

and power, and might, and do- " 9 -n '1 1 , t t. 

minion, and every name that is , ^^^^J"^' I ^i^^"^ T^i^ f"^^" 

named, not only in this world, l^"? '' ^^ u^^u u''''^^^^ !J^^^' 

but also in that which is to come. ^^^ ^^ shall all be changed,^ 

— Eph. 1 : 21. In a moment, in the twinkling 

And have* tasted the good of an eye, at the last trump : for 

word of God, and the powers of the trumpet shall sound, and the 

the world to come. — Heh. 6 : 3. dead shall be raised incorrup- 

^ But as many as received him., tible, and we shall be changed, 

to them gave he power to be- — ^ ^^^- ^5'5^^5^- 

come the sons of God, even to ^°, ^^ For if we believe that 

them that believe on his name : Jesus died and rose again, even 

Which were born not of blood, so them also which sleep in 

nor of the will of the flesh, nor Jesus will God bring with him. 



166 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



ment of the living Gentile nations who for near thirty 
centuries have misgoverned the earth in greed, pride, 
and ceaseless war (Matt. 25:31-46).^^ (3) The regath- 
ering of God's elect people, Israel (Deut. 30:1-10; 
Matt. 24: 30, 31).^^ (4) The conversion of Israel (Zech. 



For this we say unto you by 
the word of the Lord, that we 
which are alive and remain unto 
the coming of the Lord shall 
not prevent them which are 
asleep. 

For the Lord himself shall 
descend from heaven with a 
shout, with the voice of the 
archangel, and with the trump 
of God : and the dead in Christ 
shall rise first : 

Then we which are alive and 
remain shall be caught up to- 
gether with them in the clouds, 
to meet the Lord in the air : 
and so shall we ever be with 
the Lord. — i Thess. 4 : 14, I7- 

^^ When the Son of man shall 
come in his glory, and all the 
holy angels with him, then shall 
he sit upon the throne of his 
glory: 

And before him shall be gath- 
ered all nations : and he shall 
separate them one from another, 
as a shepherd divideth his sheep 
from the goats : 

And he shall set the sheep on 
his right hand, but the goats 
on the left. 

Then shall the King say unto 
them on his right hand. Come, 
ye blessed of my Father, inherit 
the kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the 
world : 

For I was an hungred, and ye 
gave me meat : I was thirsty, 
and ye gave me drink : I was a 
stranger, and ye took me in : 

Naked, and ye clothed me : I 
was sick, and ye visited me : I 
was in prison, and ye came unto 
me. 

Then shall the righteous an- 
swer him, saying, Lord, when 
saw we thee an hungred, and 
fed theef or thirsty, and gave 
thee drink? 



When saw we thee a stranger, 
and took thee in ? or naked, and 
clothed theeF 

Or when saw we thee sick, 
or in prison, and came unto 
thee? 

And the King shall answer 
and say unto them, Verily I say 
unto you, Inasmuch as ye have 
done it unto one of the least 
of these my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me. 

Then shall he say also unto 
them on the left hand, Depart 
from me, ye cursed, into ever- 
lasting fire, prepared for the 
devil and his angels : 

For I was an hungred, and 
ye gave me no m^eat : I was 
thirsty, and ye gave me no 
drink : 

I was a stranger, and ye took 
me not in : naked, and ye clothed 
me not : sick, and in prison, and 
ye visited me not. 

Then shall they also answer 
him, saying, Lord, when saw we 
thee an hungred, or athirst, or 
a stranger, or naked, or sick, or 
in prison, and did not minister 
unto thee ? 

Then shall he answer them, 
saying, Verily I say unto you, 
Inasmuch as ye did it not to 
one of the least of these, ye 
did it not to me. 

And these shall go away into 
everlasting punishment : but the 
righteous into life eternal. — 
Matt. 23 : 31-46. 

^^ And it shall come to pass, 
when all these things are come 
upon thee, the blessing and the 
curse, which I have set before 
thee, and thou shalt call them 
to mind among all the nations, 
whither the Lord thy God hath 
driven thee, 

And shalt return unto the 
Lord thy God, and shalt obey 



EARTH'S GOLDEN AGE 



167 



12:10; Ezek. 20:33-38; Rom. 11:25-27)." (5) The 



his voice according to all that I 
command thee this day, thou 
and thy children, with all thine 
heart, and with all thy soul ; 

That then the Lord thy God 
will turn thy captivity, and have 
compassion upon thee, and will 
return and gather thee from all 
the nations, whither the Lord 
thy God hath scattered thee. 

If any of thine be driven out 
unto the outmost parts of heav- 
en, from thence will the Lord 
thy God gather thee, and from 
thence will he fetch thee : 

And the Lord thy God will 
bring thee into the land which 
thy fathers possessed, and thou 
shalt possess it ; and he will do 
thee good, and multiply thee 
above thy fathers. 

And the Lord thy God will 
circumcise thine heart, and the 
heart of thy seed, to love the 
Lord thy God with all thine 
heart, and with all thy soul, that 
thou mayest live. 

And the Lord thy God will 
put all these curses upon thine 
enemies, and on them that hate 
thee, which persecuted thee. 

And thou shalt return and 
obey the voice of the Lord, and 
do all his commandments which 
I command thee this day. 

And the Lord thy God will 
make thee plenteous in every 
work of thine hand, in the fruit 
of thy body, and in the fruit of 
thy cattle, and in the fruit of 
thy land, for good : for the Lord 
will again rejoice over thee for 
good, as he rejoiced over thy 
fathers : 

If thou shalt hearken unto 
the voice of the Lord thy God, 
to keep his commandments and 
his statutes which are written 
in this book of the law, and if 
thou turn unto the Lord thy God 
with all thine heart, and with 
all thy soul. — Deut. 50 .' i-io. 

And then shall appear the sign 
of the Son of man in heaven : 
and then shall all the tribes of 
the earth mourn, and they shall 



see the Son of man coming in 
the clouds of heaven with power 
and great glory. 

And he shall send his angels 
with a great sound of a trumpet, 
and they shall gather together 
his elect from the four winds, 
from one end of heaven to the 
other. — Matt. 24 : 30, 31. 

^^ And I will pour upon the 
house of David, and upon the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the 
spirit of grace and of supplica- 
tions : and they shall look upon 
me whom they have pierced, 
and they shall mourn for him, 
as one mourneth for his only 
son, and shall be in bitterness 
for him, as one that is in bit- 
terness for his firstborn. — Zech. 
12 : 10. 

As I live, saith the Lord God, 
surely with a mighty hand, and 
with a stretched out arm, and 
with fury poured out, will I rule 
over you : 

And I will bring you out from 
the people, and will gather you 
out of the countries wherein ye 
are scattered, with a mighty 
hand, and with a stretched out 
arm., and with fury poured out. 

And I will bring you into the 
wilderness of the people, and 
there will I plead with you face 
to face. 

Like as I pleaded with your 
fathers in the wilderness of the 
land of Egypt, so will I plead 
with you, saith the Lord God. 

And I will cause you to pass 
under the rod, and I will bring 
you into the bond of the cov- 
enant : 

And I will purge out from 
among you the rebels, and them 
that transgress against me : I 
will bring them forth out of the 
country where they sojourn, and 
they shall not enter into the 
land of Israel : and ye shall 
know that I am the Lord. — 
E^ek. 20 : 33-3S. 

For I would not, brethren, 
that ye should be ignorant of 
this mystery, lest ye should be 



168 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



filling of the earth with the knowledge of the glory of 
the Lord (Isa. 11:9; Hab. 2: 14; Acts 15: 16, 17). ^^ 

3. The ^'righteousness" which is the ethical keyword 
of the age to come is simply right doing. The pro- 
phetic descriptions of the age surprise one accustomed 
to the high spiritual standard of the Epistles — the ''fruit 
of the Spirit" (Gal. 5: 22, 23).^^ The practical "right- 
eousness" of the age to come is summarily expressed in 
Micah 6:8: "He hath showed thee, O man, what is 
good, and what doth the Lord thy God require of thee, 
but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly 
with thy God?" (Zech. 7: 9, 10; 8: 15-1 7.) ^^ 

The end of wars, the protection of the poor, the 
widow, and the orphan (Psa. 72 : 2-4, 12-15),^^ the inflex- 



wise in your own conceits ; that 
blindness in part is happened to 
Israel, until the fulness of the 
Gentiles be come in. 

And so all Israel shall be 
saved : as it is written, There 
shall come out of Sion the De- 
liverer, and shall turn away un- 
godliness from Jacob : 

For this is my covenant unto 
them, when I shall take away 
their sins. — Rom. 11:25-27. 

^^ They shall not hurt nor de- 
stroy in all my holy mountain : 
for the earth shall be full of 
the knowledge of the Lord, as 
the waters cover the sea. — Isa. 
11:9. 

For the earth shall be filled 
with the knowledge of the glory 
of the Lord, as the waters cover 
the sea. — Hah. 2 : 14. 

After this I will return, and 
will build again the tabernacle 
of David, which is fallen down ; 
and I will build again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up : 

That the residue of men might 
seek after the Lord, and all the 
Gentiles, upon whom my name 
is called, saith the Lord, who 
doeth all these things. — Acts 15 : 
16, 17. 

'^ But the fruit of the Spirit 
is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, 
gentleness, goodness, faith, 



Meekness, temperance : against 
such there is no law. — Gal. 3 : 
22, 23. 

" Thus speaketh the Lord of 
hosts, saying, Execute true judg- 
ment, and shew mercy and 
compassions every man to his 
brother : 

And oppress not the widow, 
nor the fatherless, the stranger, 
nor the poor ; and let none of 
you imagine evil against his 
brother in your heart. — Zech. 
7 : 9, ro. 

So again have I thought in 
these days to do well unto Jeru- 
salem and to the house of Ju- 
dah : fear ye not. 

These are the things that ye 
shall do ; Speak ye every man 
the truth to his neighbour ; exe- 
cute the judgment of truth and 
peace in your gates : 

And let none of you imagine 
evil in your hearts against his 
neighbour ; and love no false 
oath : for all these are things 
that I hate, saith the Lord. — 
Zech. 8 : 15-17. 

'^^ He shall judge thy people 
with righteousness, and thy poor 
with judgment. 

The mountains shall bring 
peace to the people, and the 
little hills, by righteousness. 

He shall judge the poor of the 
people, he shall save the chil- 



EARTH'S GOLDEN AGE 



169 



ible demand for just dealing, will be enforced by resist- 
less power. It is the age of the ''rod of iron/' What- 
ever the inner thought of man may be, he must do right 
or die (Isa. 11:4; Psa. 2:9; Rev. 2:27)}^ Inflexible 
justice, inexorably enforced: ''They shall not hurt nor 
destroy in all my holy mountain/' 

4. The unseen powers of evil, headed up in Satan, 
are removed from the scene (Rev. 20:1-3)'^^ during 
the entire period. 

5. At His first advent, while preaching to Israel the 
kingdom as "at hand'' (Matt. 4:17; 10:5-7),^^ our 
Lord demonstrated in seven great miracles His power 
to deal with all the temporal (as well as the eternal) 
consequences of sin. He healed leprosy, type of the 
loathsomeness of sin, incurable by human power; palsy, 
the helplessness of the sinner; fever, the restlessness of 
sin; stilled a tempest, showing power over nature; cast 
out demons ; raised from the dead, and healed the blind. 
Manifesting in full sway these powers, the age to come 



dren of the needy, and shall 
break in pieces the oppressor. — 
Psalm 72 : 2-4. 

For he shall deliver the needy 
when he crieth ; the poor also, 
and him that hath no helper. 

He shall spare the poor and 
needy, and shall save the souls 
of the needy. 

He shall redeem their soul 
from deceit and violence : and 
precious shall their blood be in 
his sight. 

And he shall live, and to him 
shall be given of the gold of 
Sheba : prayer also shall be made 
for him continually ; and daily 
shall he be praised. — Psalm 72 : 
12-15. 

" But with righteousness shall 
he judge the poor, and reprove 
with equity for the meek of the 
earth : and he shall smite the 
earth with the rod of his mouth, 
and with the breath of his lips 
shall he slay the wicked. — Isa. 
11: 4. 

Thou shalt break them with a 
rod of iron ; thou shalt dash 



them in pieces like a potter's 
vessel. — Psalm, 2 : g. 

And he shall rule them with 
a rod of iron ; as the vessels of 
a potter shall they be broken 
to shivers : even as I received 
of my Father. — Rev. 2 : 27. 

^° And I saw an angel come 
down from heaven, having the 
key of the bottomless pit and a 
great chain in his hand. 

And he laid hold on the dra- 
gon, that old serpent, which is 
the Devil, and Satan, and bound 
him a thousand years. 

And cast him into the bot- 
tomless pit, and shut him up, 
and set a seal upon him, that 
he should deceive the nations no 
more, till the thousand years 
should be fulfilled : and after 
that he must be loosed a little 
season. — Rev. 20 : 1-3. 

^^ From that time Jesus began 
to preach, and to say, Repent : 
for the kingdom of heaven is 
at hand. — Matt. 4 : 17. 

These twelve Jesus sent forth, 
and commanded them, saying, 
Go not into the way of the Gen- 



170 



IVHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAVr 



will be one of health and so of restored longevity (Isa. 
65: 18-20) .22 

6. But these are merely the foundational and adminis- 
trative features of the age to come. They are largely 
negative — the casting out of the present causes of degen- 
eracy and disease, but essential to that which is, con- 
structively, the glory of the age to come. For that age 
is to witness the ''manifestation [apokalupsis=nnYcil' 
ing] of the sons of God." The sons of God, partakers 
of the Divine nature through the new birth (2 Pet. 1 : 
4), 2^ and of the very eternal life of the Son of God 
(John 3:16; 6:47; Col. 3:4; 1 John 5:11, 12),^^ are 
''joint heirs" with Him who is "heir of all things" (Rom. 
8:17; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2).^^ As He was veiled in 
the flesh of His humiliation so that only faith discerned 



tiles, and into any city of the 
Samaritans enter ye not : 

But go rather to the lost sheep 
of the house of Israel. 

And as ye go, preach, saying, 
The kingdom of heaven is at 
hand. — Matt. lo : 5-7. 

" But be ye glad and rejoice 
for ever in that vi^hich I create : 
for, behold, I create Jerusalem a 
rejoicing, and her people a joy. 

And I will rejoice in Jerusa- 
lem, and joy in my people: and 
the voice of weeping shall be 
no more heard in her, nor the 
voice of crying. 

There shall be no more thence 
an infant of days, nor an old 
man that hath not filled his 
days : for the child shall die an 
hundred years old ; but the sin- 
ner being an hundred years old 
shall be accursed. — Isa. 65 : 18- 
20. 

^ Whereby are given unto us 
exceeding great and precious 
promises : that by these ye might 
be partakers of the divine na- 
ture, having escaped the corrup- 
tion that is in the world through 
lust. — 2 Pet. 1 : 4. 

** For God so loved the world, 
that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth 
in him should not perish, but 



have everlasting life. — John 3 : 
16. 

Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
He that believeth on me hath 
everlasting life. — John 6 : 47. 

When Christ, who is our life, 
shall appear, then shall ye also 
appear with him in glory. — Col. 
3:4- 

And this is the record, that 
God hath given to us eternal 
life, and this life is in his Son. 

He that hath the Son hath 
life ; and he that hath not the 
Son of God hath not life. — 
I John 5; //, 12. 

^^ And if children, then heirs ; 
heirs of God, and joint-heirs 
with Christ ; if so be that we 
suffer with him, that we may be 
also glorified together. — Rom. 8: 
17- 

For by him were all things 
created, that are in heaven, and 
that are in earth, visible and in- 
visible, whether they he thrones, 
or dominions, or principalities, 
or powers : all things were cre- 
ated by him, and for him. — 
Col. 1 : 16. 

Hath in these last days spoken 
unto us by his Son, whom he 
hath appointed heir of all things, 
by whom also he made the world. 
—Heb. 1 : 2. 



EARTH'S GOLDEN AGE 171 

Him as the Son of God, so the sons of God are veiled — 
''the world knoweth us not'' (1 John 3: 1).^^ 

But that is not all. Creation, made for the Son and 
sons of God, following the fortunes of the ''first man 
Adam'* (1 Cor. 15:45)'^"^ has been "made subject to 
vanity'' ("emptiness" of the real objects of creation), 
(Rom. 8:20; Eccl. 1:4-8).^^ From the entrance of sin 
to the very end of the present age, creation, made for 
the sons of God "waits" for the unveiling of the sons 
of God. Nature does not give up her greater forces 
to man in his avarice, his ruthless use of her powers, 
his unequal distribution of her benefits. We cannot 
reach by imagination even a conception of the reserves 
of nature never to be given up except to the Heir, and 
the joint heirs. Till they are "unveiled" and on the 
scene, creation "waits." 

At no point does the divine revelation say so much, 
and yet with an impenetrable reserve, of an inconceiv- 
ably wonderful age awaiting humanity as in Romans 
8: 18-23, with Hebrews 2: 1-13.2^ 

^^ Behold, what manner of love unto the place from whence the 

the Father hath bestowed upon rivers come, thither they return 

us, that we should be called the again. 

sons of God : therefore the world All things are full of labour ; 

knoweth us not, because it knew man cannot utter it: the eye is 

him not. — i John 3 : i. not satisfied with seeing, nor the 

" And so it is written. The ear filled with hearing. — Eccl. 

first man Adam was made a liv- i : 4-8. 

ing soul ; the last Adam was ^^ For I reckon that the suf- 

made a quickening spirit. — i ferings of this present time are 

Cor. 15 : 45. not worthy to he compared with 

^® For the creature was made the glory which shall be re- 
subject to vanity, not willingly, vealed in us. 
but by reason of him who hath For the earnest expectation 
subjected the same in hope. — of the creature waiteth for the 
Rom. 8 : 20. manifestation of the sons of 

One generation passeth away, God. 

and another generation cometh : For the creature was made 

but the earth abideth for ever. subject to vanity, not willingly, 

The sun also ariseth, and the but by reason of him who hath 

sun goeth down, and hasteth to subjected the same in hope, 

his place where he arose. Because the creature itself 

The wind goeth toward the also shall be delivered from the 

south, and turneth about unto bondage of corruption into the 

the north ; it whirleth about con- glorious liberty of the children 

tinually, and the wind returneth of God. 

again according to his circuits. For we know that the whole 

All the rivers run into the creation groaneth and travail- 
sea; yet the sea is not full; eth in pain together until now. 



172 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



Incontestably the three '"groans" of Romans 8 : 22-26 
still continue.^^ All the discoveries and inventions of 
man have not silenced one of them. Creation groans 
under the pains of unavailing labor — the pangs that bring 
forth nothing; we ourselves, though we have the first 
fruits of the Spirit, groan in longing for the redemption 



And not only they, but our- 
selves also, which have the first- 
fruits of the Spirit, even we our- 
selves groan within ourselves, 
waiting for the adoption, to wit, 
the redemption of our body. — 
Rom. 8 : 18-23. 

Therefore we ought to give 
the more earnest heed to the 
things which we have heard, 
lest at any time we should let 
thefn slip. 

For if the word spoken by 
angels was stedfast, and every 
transgression and disobedience 
received a just recompence of 
reward ; 

How shall we escape, if we 
neglect so great salvation ; which 
at the first began to be spoken 
by the Lord, and was confirmed 
unto us by them that heard 
him ; 

God also bearing them wit- 
ness, both with signs and won- 
ders, and with divers miracles, 
and gifts of the Holy Ghost, 
according to his own will ? 

For unto the angels hath he 
not put in subjection the world 
to come, whereof we speak. 

But one in a certain place tes- 
tified, saying, What is man, that 
thou art mindful of him? or 
the son of man, that thou vis- 
itest him ? 

Thou madest him a little lower 
than the angels ; thou crownedst 
him with glory and honour, and 
didst set him over the works of 
thy hands : 

Thou hast put all things in 
subjection under his feet. For 
in that he put all in subjection 
under him, he left nothing that 
is not put under him. But now 
we see not yet all things put 
under him. 



But we see Jesus, who was 
made a little lower than the 
angels for the suffering of death, 
crowned with glory and hon- 
our ; that he by the grace of 
God should taste death for every 
man. 

For it became him, for whom 
are all things, and by whom 
are all things, in bringing many 
sons unto glory, to make the 
captain of their salvation perfect 
through sufferings. 

For both he that sanctifieth 
and they who are sanctified are 
all of one : for which cause he 
is not ashamed to call them 
brethren, 

Saying, I will declare thy 
name unto my brethren, in the 
midst of the church will I sing 
praise unto thee. 

And again, I will put my trust 
in him. And again, Behold I 
and the children which God hath 
given me. — Heb. 2 : 1-13. 

^° For we know that the whole 
creation groaneth and travaileth 
in pain together until now. 

And not only they, but our- 
selves also, which have the first- 
fruits of the Spirit, even we our- 
selves groan within ourselves, 
waiting for the adoption, to wit, 
the redemption of our body. 

For we are saved by hope : 
but hope that is seen is not 
hope : for what a man seeth, 
why doth he yet hope for? 

But if we hope for that we 
see not, then do we with pa- 
tience wait for it. 

Likewise the Spirit also help- 
eth our infirmities : for we know 
not what we should pray for as 
we ought : but the Spirit itself 
maketh intercession for us with 
groanings which cannot be ut- 
tered. — Rom. 8 : 22-26. 



EARTH'S GOLDEN AGE 



173 



of the body to be wrought by the coming of the Lord 
for His church (Rom. 8:22, 2Z] Eph. \:U),^^ and the 
Spirit within us intercedes with groanings which cannot 
be uttered (Rom. 8:26).^^ In heaven, the Lord waits. 
It should be remembered ( 1 ) that both the great tribu- 
lation, and the age to come which the tribulation intro- 
duces, are periods during which the Gospel wins its 
greatest triumphs in salvation. Out of the great tribu- 
lation comes the Jewish remnant which turns to Christ 
in that awful time, and '*a great multitude, which no 
man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and 
people, and tongues'' — Gentiles^ — who have washed their 
robes in the blood. We number converts easily enough 
now; in that, awful time they become innumerable (Rev. 
7:4-10).^^ And the age to come will also witness an all 



^^ For we know that the whole 
creation groaneth and travaileth 
in pain together until now. 

And not only they, but our- 
selves also, which have the first- 
fruits of the Spirit, even we our- 
selves groan within ourselves, 
waiting for the adoption, to wit, 
the redemption of our body. — 
Rom. 8 : 22, 23. 

Which is the earnest of our 
inheritance until the redemption 
of the purchased possession, un- 
to the praise of his glory. — Eph. 
1 : 14. 

^^ Likewise the Spirit also help- 
eth our infirmities : for we know 
not what we should pray for as 
we ought : but the Spirit itself 
maketh intercession for us with 
groanings which cannot be ut- 
tered. — Rom. 8 : 26. 

^And I heard the number of 
them which were sealed : and 
there were sealed an hundred 
and forty and four thousand of 
all the tribes of the children of 
Israel. 

Of the tribe of Juda were 
sealed twelve thousand. Of the 
tribe of Reuben were sealed 
twelve thousand. Of the tribe 



of Gad were sealed twelve thou- 
sand. 

Of the tribe of Aser were 
sealed twelve thousand. Of the 
tribe of Nepthalim were sealed 
twelve thousand. Of the tribe 
of Manasses were sealed twelve 
thousand. 

Of the tribe of Simeon were 
sealed twelve thousand. Of the 
tribe of Levi were sealed twelve 
thousand. Of the tribe of Issa- 
char were sealed twelve thou- 
sand. 

Of the tribe of Zabulon were 
sealed twelve thousand. Of the 
tribe of Joseph were sealed 
twelve thousand. Of the tribe 
of Benjamin were sealed twelve 
thousand. 

After this I beheld, and, lo, 
a great multitude, which no man 
could number, of all nations, 
and kindreds, and people, and 
tongues, stood before the throne, 
and before the Lamb, clothed 
with white robes, and palms in 
their hands ; 

And cried with a loud voice, 
saying, Salvation to our God 
which sitteth upon the throne, 
and unto the Lamb. — Rev. 7: 
4-10. 



174 



WHAT DO THE PROPHETS SAYf 



but complete conversion of the human family (Acts 15: 
16, 17). 3^ 

But alas ! an inveterately God-hating residuum of the 
race remains. Satan is allowed to test humanity once 
more, and gathers an army of these (Rev. 20:7-9).^^ 
The final judgment of the wicked ''dead" follows, and 
the scene is cleared for the new heavens and the new 
earth. 



^* After this I will return, and 
will build again the tabernacle 
of David, which is fallen down ; 
and I will build again the ruins 
thereof, and I will set it up : 

That the residue of men might 
seek after the Lord, and all the 
Gentiles, upon whom my name 
is called, saith the Lord, who 
doeth all these things. — Acts 15 : 
16, 17. 

^^ And when the thousand 
years are expired, Satan shall 
be loosed out of his prison, 



And shall go out to deceive 
the nations which are in the 
four quarters of the earth, Gog 
and Magog, to gather them to- 
gether to battle : the number of 
whom is as the sand of the sea. 

And they went up on the 
breadth of the earth, and com- 
passed the camp of the saints 
about, and the beloved city : and 
fire came down from God out of 
heaven, and devoured them. — 
Rev, 20 : 7-9. 



SCRIPTURE INDEX 



GENESIS 

TEXT PAGE 

2: 15-17 27 

2: 21-23 115 

3: 14-19 28 

3: 15 Z2, 40 

4:4 41 

4: 21, 22 15 

6:4 15 

6:5 28 

9:5, 6 29 

9: 25-27 27, 29, 30 

11 : 6-9 29 

12: 1-3 30, 41, 49, 11 

13: 15, 16 30 

14: 18 41 

15: 18 30 

21 : 3 . , 32 

28: 12, 13 41 

EXODUS 

11: 7 95, 96 

12: 11, 41, 42 95, 96 

12: 12, 13 95, 96 

25: 22 21 

NUMBERS 
24: 3 22 

DEUTERONOMY 

4:5, 6 31 

6:4 31 

18: 15 75 

28: 15-19, 23, 24, 25 ZZ 

29: 24-28 ZZ 

30: 1-10 166, 167 

33:26-29 31 

1 SAMUEL 

2: 27 22 

2 SAMUEL 

7: 1-17 99 

7:4-16 91 

7: 5-17 105 

7: 10-17 53, IZ 

7: 16, 17 59 

24: 11 22 



1 KINGS 

TEXT 

14: 25, 26 


> 

PAGE 

zz 


17 : 1 


33 


21: 25 


132 



2 CHRONICLES 
36: 3-5 11 



2 
14 
22 
22 
51 
72 
89 
89 
8 

89 
89 
89 
89 



PSALMS 

9 169 

1, 2 28 

28 46 

14, 15, 16 45 

5 . 28 

2-4,* 12-i5' !'.!!. *.'.'.*.V68.' 169 

3, 4 53, 99 

3-6 91 

18 23 

20-36 53 

20-37 53 

20-39 99, 100 

30-36 59 



1:4- 



ECCLESIASTES 



.171 



ISAIAH 

2:1-4 51, 74 

2:2-4 30 

2: 14-17 39 

5:7 35 

5 : 26 30 

7: 10-14 24, 37 

7: 13, 14 42, 49, 58 

9:1, 2 30 

9:6 42, 46, 60 

9:6, 7 39, 49 

9:7 42, 51, 74 

0:20-34 60 

0: 28 156, 157 

0: 28-54 158 

1 (,Z, 64 



1-12 46, 47, 51 

4 169 

9 54, 168 

9-12 109 



175 



176 



SCRIPTURE INDEX 



TEXT PAGE 

11 : 10 76 

29: 3 156, 157 

32: 17 23 

43: 10, 11 31 

43: 24 34 

49: 8-13 64, 65 

52: 1-12 64, 65 

53 56 

53: 11 45 

59: 2 34 

59: 20, 21 38 

60 2>7 

61 Z7 

65: 18-20 . .' 170 

JEREMIAH 

16: 19 30 

23: 3-6 64 

23: 5 113 

23: 5, 6 42, 46, 47 

23: 5-8 54 

30:4-7 136, 156 

30: 7 145 

31 : 7-25 64, 65 

ZZ\ 1-17 66 

ZZ: 14-17 46, 47 

2>Z'. 14-26 80, 81 

2>Z'. 15-17 42 

EZEKIEL 

20: 33-38 167 

20 : 35-44 50 

28: 25, 26 67 

34: 11-31 67 

Z6\ 1-12 67 

36: 16-38 64, 66 

36:24-38 67, 68 

27 \ 1-28 67, 68 

38:2 157 

DANIEL 

2: 31-45 69, 70 

2: 34-35 18 

2 : 40 12 

2:41, 42 13 

2: 44 72,, 74 

2: 44, 45 13, 18 

2:45 12 

7 61, 62, 146, 147 

7: 1-27 12 

7:7 12 

7:8 14, 148, 150 

7: 13-18 104 

7: 19-26 14 

7:25 151 

9: 1, 20-27 141, 144 

9: 11 34 



TEXT PAGE 

9: 20-27 12 

9:26, 27 14, 15 

9:27 145 

11 : 36 14 

11 : 36—12: 3 12 

12: 1 145, 156 

JOEL 

2:2 125 

2: 11 156, 157 

3:9 156, 157 

3:9, 10 30 

AMOS 

5: 18-20 125 

9:11 46, 47, 48 

9: 11-15 108 

MICAH 

1:6 156, 157 

5:2 46, 47 

6:8 26 

HABAKKUK 

2: 14 168 

ZEPHANIAH 
1 : 15 125 

ZECHARIAH 
3:8 58 

4:6 58 

7:9, 10 168 

8: 15-17 168 

8: 16, 17 26 

9: 7-15 113 

9:9 48 

12 72, 72 

12: 10 58, 167 

13: 1 58 

14 72 

14: 4 50 

14: 4, 5, 9, 16 48 

14: 4-21 92 

14:9 46, 47 

MALACHI 

4: 1 132 

4: 2 40, 132 

4:5 48 

MATTHEW 

1 : 1 32, 53, 54, 77, 164 

3:2 86 

4: 17 86, 169 

6: 10 34, 55 

7: 22 87 

10: 5-7 76, 170 

10: 7 87 



SCRIPTURE INDEX 



177 



TEXT PAGE 

10: 17 80 

11 : 20-24 80 

11 : 22-24 88 

12: 32 164 

12: 38-40 88 

13: 11-17 79 

13: 17 45 

13: 24-30 55, 118 

13: 28-30 162 

13: 33 56 

13: 36-43 55, 118, 119 

13: 37-43, 49, 50 162 

13:40-43 87 

13:47-50 56 

16: 13-18 89 

16: 16 92 

16: 18 101, 111 

16: 18, 21 112 

16: 13 32 

16:28 112 

17: 1-13 112 

17:22 88 

19: 27, 28 92, 94 

19:28 55 

20: 16 87 

20: 17-19 88 

21: 1-11 48, 81 

21:4, 5 75 

21:28-31 87 

23: 13-38 87, 88 

23: 37-39 88, 89 

24: 1-30 162, 163 

24: 1-51 82 

24: 6-8 16 

24: 15 11, 19 

24: 15-30 17, 92 

24:21 136, 144, 145, 156 

24:25 122 

24: 27, 30 50 

24: 29-31 99, 100 

24: 30, 31 166, 167 

24:35 91 

24: 37-39 15 

25: 1-46 82, 85 

25: 31 51, 55, 94, 99, 

100, 112, 124 

25: 31-46 88, 89, 166 

25: 46 88 

MARK 

10: 30 164, 165 

11 : 1-10 48 

16: 15 117 

LUKE 

1 : 30-33 99, 100, 106, 164 

1 : 31-33 60 



TEXT PAGE 

1 : 32 42, 74, 91 

1 : 33 39, 53, 54 

1 : 34, 35 42 

1 : 35 32 

13: 20, 21 56 

17: 20 55 

17: 26-30 15 

17: 26-32 71, 72 

17: 26-37 90, 91 

17: 37 16 

18:8 119 

18: 11 35 

18: 30 164, 165 

19: 12-14 104 

19: 29-38 48 

20:35 164, 165 

21 : 5-36 82, 85, 86, 91 

21 : 20-24 88, 89 

21:24 11, 69, 147 

23: 24 107 

JOHN 

1: 17 75 

1: 36 95 

1:51 41 

3: 16 170 

5: 24 137, 138 

6:47 170 

14: 1-3 97, 14S, 133 

14: 2 117 

14: 2, 3 126 

14:3 96 

14:30 131 

15: 1-5 115 

16: 12 Ill 

16: 12, 13 94 

16: 13 Ill, 165 

17:5 46 

17: 6, 11, 12, 16 116 

21: 15-17 129 

ACTS 

1: 1-8 101 

2:1-4 116 

2:25-36 94, 95 

2: 37-41 106 

2:47 79, 116 

3: 17 107 

3: 19-21 105, 106 

3:26 106 

4: 13-22 106 

5: 28-33 106 

7:35-37 41 

7:37 75 

7 : 38 90 

13:46 76, 77 

14: 22 136 



178 



SCRIPTURE INDEX 



TEXT PAGE 

15: 1 107 

15: 7-11 108 

15: 13-17 53, 54 

15: 13-18 49 

15: 14 79, 164 

15: 14-17 80, 81, 92, 94 

95, 109, 164 

15: 16, 17 168, 173, 174 

15: 28 107 

16: 31 105 

19: 1-6 121 

19: 32 90 

ROMANS 

1 : 16 76, 103 

1 : 21-23 29 

1 : 28 29 

2:9, 10 76, 77, 103 

2: 12 29 

3:1, 2 31 

3: 19-22 34 

5: 12 28 

8: 17 117, 170 

8: 18-23 171, 172 

8: 20 171 

8: 21 160 

8: 22, 23 173 

8: 24, 25 124 

8:26 172, 173 

10: 3 66 

11:24, 25 76 

11:25-27 109, 167, 168 

14: 17 55 

1 CORINTHIANS 

1:8 122 

2: 14 28 

2: 15 21 

5:5 122 

5:7 95 

11: 26 79, 124 

12: 12-14 114 

15: 20-23 122 

15: 22 28 

15: 22, 23 112 

15:24, 25, 26 57 

15:24-28 52, 76, 101 

15:45 40, 171 

15:47 40 

15: 51, 52 78, 117, 118, 

149, 165 
15: 51-53 113, 122 

2 CORINTHIANS 

1: 14 122 

4:4 131 

11: 1, 2 115 



GALATIANS 

TEXT PAGE 

3: 13, 14 77 

3: 16 32 

4:4 40, 75 

5: 22, 23 168 

EPHESIANS 

1:3 117 

1 : 11 117 

1 : 14 173 

1 : 21 164, 165 

1 : 22, 23 114 

^: 12 77 

2 : 20 94 

2: 21, 22 116 

3: 1-10 43, 103 

3: 1-11 39, 7^, 90, 114 

3:9, 10 102 

5: 28-33 115, 116 

PHILIPPIANS 

1:6, 10 122 

2: 16 122 

3: 18 121 

3:20 78, 117, 124 

3:20, 21 117, 165 

4:5 78, 79, 124 

COLOSSIANS 

1 : 16 170 

3: 4 170 

1 THESSALONIANS 

1:9, 10 117 

1 : 10 124 

4: 13-17 122 

4: 14-16 96 

4: 14-17 78, 113, 117, 118 

133, 137, 148, 149, 165 

5:1-4 71, 72 

5:1-8 125 

5: 1-9 137, 138 

5:9 125, 133 

2 THESSALONIANS 

1: 6-10 71, 72 

2: 1-10 114 

2: 3, 7-12 119, 120 

2:8-10 19 

2:9, 10 153 

1 TIMOTHY 

2: 14 27 

4:1-3 119, 120 

6: 3-5 119 



SCRIPTURE INDEX 



179 



2 TIMOTHY 

TEXT PAGE 

2: 17, 18 119 

2: 25, 26 121 

3:1-9 119, 120 

4: 3, 4 119 

TITUS 
2: 13 117, 124 

HEBREWS 

1:20 170 

2: 1-13 171, 172 

3:1 78 

6: 5 164, 165 

7: 11 41 

8: 10-13 96 

JAMES 
5: 1-9 136 

1 PETER 

1:4 78, 117 

1 : 10-12 79, 80 

1: 11 44 

1 : 19 43 

2:4-7 94 

2: 9, 19 117 

2:4-7 94, 117 

2: 11 78, 117 

2: 24 46 

4: 12-19 136 

2 PETER 

1:4 170 

1 : 19-21 26 

1 : 20 9 

2:1 121 

2: 1-22 119 

3: Z-7 119, 120 

1 JOHN 

2: 18, 19 122 

2: 18-23 119, 120 

3: 1 171 

3:2 56 



TEXT PAGE 

4:1-3 121 

4:1-5 119, 122 

5: 11, 12 115, 170 

2 JOHN 

7-11 119 

3 JOHN 

9 119 

JUDE 
3: 19 119, 120 

REVELATION 

1: 19 127, 148 

2: 1-7 128, 129 

2:2, 3 129 

2:8-11 129, 130 

2: 9-17 130 

2: 18-29 132 

2:24 148 

2: 24-29 148, 149 

2:27 169 

3: 1-6 133 

3: 7-13 134 

3: 10 139, 165 

3: 14-22 134, 135 

5: 1-10 104 

7:4-10 173 

13 19 

13: 1-7 149, 150 

13: 2-17 151, 152 

13:4-8 150, 151 

13: 5 151 

13: 12, 16, 17 157 

14: 15, 16 137 

15: 7, 8 ..137 

16: 1-21 137, 138, 152, 153 

17: 1-18 154 

18: 1-24 154, 155, 156 

19: 11 39 

19: 11-21 17, 19, 60 

19: 17-21 16 

20: 1-3 169 

20: 7-9 56, 174 

20: 10 131 



TOPICAL INDEX 



Aaron, priest after the manner of, 
41. 

Abomination of desolation, 19, 126, 
143, 144, 145; predicted by 
Daniel, 93. 

Abrahamic Covenant, 30. 

Acts and Epistles, Church men- 
tioned 89 times in, 111; Kingdom 
mentioned only 25 times in. 111. 

Acts, prophetic message of, 99; re- 
jection of the absent King in, 
105. 

Adam, a type of Christ, 115; first 
man, 171; last, 40; lost dominion 
of, 57. 

Adamic Covenant, 218. 

Advent, Christ's first, not the smit- 
ing of the feet of the image, 18; 
first, prophesied, 49; of the Holy 
Spirit, 101; second, prophesied, 
50, 51. 

Advents, both, in Zechariah, 47, 48. 

"Age," course and end of this, 90; 
incorrectly translated "world," 
165; last seven years of the, 141 ft'. 

Age to come, beginning of, marked 
by four events, 165; definitely 
foretold in the Scriptures, 164; 
Gospel's greatest triumphs in sal- 
vation in, 173; righteousness in, 
168; Scripture testimony con- 
cerning, 161 ft. 

Ages, dark, 133. 

Ages dealt with in prophecy, 11. 

Ahaz, prediction to, 37. 

Aims, Church, 11. 

Aion, Greek for "Age," 165. 

Alexander's dream of a world em- 
pire, 70. 

Anstey's "Romance of Biblical 
Chronology," 142. 

Anti-Christ aiding the beast, 151; 
the false prophet, 157. 

Apocalypse, Historical interpreta- 
tion of, 26. 

Apostate, Laodicean profession ut- 
terly, 139. 

Apostles, Jewish ministry of the, 
103 ff. 

Armageddon, 16, 17, 19, 39, 63, 72, 
156, 158, 164. 

Army, Israel without commission 
for, 32. 

"At hand," meaning of, 77. 

Authority of the Bible, weakened 
faith in, 134. 



B 

Babylon, a religious organization, 
153; apostate world-church, de- 
stroyed by the Emperor-Beast, 
157; as a world empire, 70; of 
Nebuchadnezzar, in Gentile 
world-rule, 12; Laodicean profes- 
sion, 139. 

Baptism of the Spirit, 114. 

Beast, and false prophet fighting the 
Messiah, 158; awful tyranny of 
the, 151; destroys religious 
"Babylon," 153, 154, 157; of 
Daniel and Revelation, 150; out 
of the sea, 19, 126; the man of 
sin, 149; worship of the, 157. 

Beatitudes, 75. 

Beautiful Gate, Peter's ' Sermon at, 
106. 

Believers, a new body, 97; true sub- 
jects of the Kingdom of Heaven, 
76. 

Bengel, quoted, 165. 

Bible a growth, not a structure, 10; 
authority of, weakened faith in, 
134. 

Blessed Hope, of the pilgrim 
Church, Christ's Coming, 97; 
without sign or time-note, 124. 

Body of Christ, 118; growing since 
Pentecost, 116; the church, 114. 

Body to be redeemed at the coming 
of the Lord, 173. 

Boyle, S. W., interpretation of 
prayer on the cross, 107. 

Bride of Christ the church, 115. 



Campanella's "City of the Sun," 
159. 

Capital punishment, established by 
God, 29. 

Catastrophe, ends ten final kingdoms, 
70; to end this age, 15, 90, 164. 

China, perhaps in final invasion of 
the Holy Land, 157.^ 

Christ, as Prophet, Priest and King, 
75; authenticated prophecies of 
Scripture, 5, 11; chief prophet 
of the Church Age, 11; con- 
fessed as the Messiah, 92; day 
of, 122, 126; Head of the church, 
114; Nobleman of the Postponed 
Kingdom, 104; power of to deal 
with all the consequences of sin, 
169; return of accompanied b'y 



181 



182 



TOPICAL INDEX 



the sons of God in glory, 165; 
son of David, 164; typified by 
Adam, 115; zeal for name of, 
129. 

Christendom, what it is, 87; what 
it means, 1 18. 

Christianity, instead of Christ, 129; 
persecuted by Jews and Rome, 
130; represented by the profess- 
ing church, 131; under Constan- 
tine, 130. 

Christs, false, in this age, 163. 

Chronology, Biblical and Ptolemaic, 
142. 

Church, a mystery hid in God, 102, 
114; and Kingdom not synony- 
mous, 112; Christ the Head of, 
114; confused with Israel, 5; 
converting the world in this age 
unscriptural, 161; distinguished 
from the churches, 118; doctrine 
not unfolded in Acts, 110; ex- 
pectation of Christ, 117; first 
century, 129; foundation stones 
the twelve disciples, 94; growing 
since Pentecost, 116; like the 
human body, 115; mentioned 89 
times in Acts and the Epistles, 
111; mission of the, 117; mystery 
unfolded in the Epistles, 114; new 
promise to, 123; not an organi- 
zation, but an organism, 114, 
115; not Israel, 26; not men- 
tioned until Christ's rejection 
evident, 77:, not the Kingdom, 
26, 56; not the subject of Acts* 
prophetic testimony, 109; not to 
pass through the tribulation, 119, 
153; predicted by Christ, 89; pro- 
fessing, foreview of its history, 
128; prophecies in Epistles and 
Revelation, 110; the body of 
Christ, 114; the bride of Christ, 
115; to be received unto Christ, 
96; truth committed to Paul, 
114; truth not part of Jesus' 
forty days* resurrection instruc- 
tions, 102; typified by Eve, 115; 
union ending in Babylon, 153; 
unrelated to earthly events, 78. 

Church age, a ''mystery," 78; a 
parenthesis in history, 38. 

Churches include both believers and 
unbelievers, 118. 

Civilization not Christian, 25. 

Clay in present national world- 
system, 13. 

Cole, Major, letter from Billy Sun- 
day to, 22. 

Constantine, Christianity under, 
130; professed conversion of, 131. 

Conversion at Christ's coming, 
166; of the human family all 
but complete in the age to come, 
174; of the world in this age 
unscriptural, 161; of the world 
not to bring in the Kingdom, 71. 

Converted world, there will be, 109. 

Corporate guilt of the Jews, 105. 



Council at Jerusalem, 107. 

Covenant, Davidic, 59, 105; and es- 
tablishment of the Kingdom, 91; 
reaffirmed in Olivet Discourse, 
99; renewed through Gabriel, 99; 
with the Jews, 144, 145. 

Covenants, three in Genesis, 27. 

Creation subject to vanity, 171. 

Creeds, period of the great, 131. 

Crisis in the world to-day, 5. 

Cross-prayer of our Lord, how an- 
swered, 107. 

Crucifixion of Christ, 143. 



Daniel authenticated by Christ, 11; 
chief prophet of Times of the 
Gentiles, 11, 12, 69, 141; contri- 
bution of to the prophets, 71; 
image vision of, 128; seventy 
weeks of, 143; seventieth week 
of, 152; wild beast vision of, 128. 

Darius the Mede, 141. 

Dark Ages, the, 133. 

David, Christ the son of, 164; fore- 
seeing Resurrection, 105; throne 
of, 106; throne of reaffirmed in 
Olivet Discourse, 99. 

Davidic covenant, 59, 7Zt 91, 105, 
161. 

Davidic monarchy re-established, 
164. 

Davidic promise reaffirmed in coun- 
cil at Jerusalem, 108. 

Day of Christ, 119, 122, 125, 126. 

Day of the Lord, 119, 122', 125, 
126, 132. 

Dead believers raised at Christ's 
coming, 165. 

Death of believer not the Lord's 
return, 10. 

Demons working miracles, 153. 

Denominations, the day of, 129. 

Deuteronomy foretelling Israel's 
future, 128. 

Disciples, gathered by our Lord in 
His first coming were Jews, 91, 
92; to have judgeships over the 
Twelve Tribes, 93. 

Discipleship of the Twelve, in the 
new body the Church, 101; on 
Jewish ground, 101. 

Disobedience instantly judged dur- 
ing the millennium, 57. 

Dispensation, of grace, inaugurated 
bY the Holy Spirit, 94; or age, 
not world, 165; beginning of dif- 
ferent marked by miracle and 
prophecy, 12. 

Dispersed elect nation to be re- 
gathered, 93. 

Doctrine, great zeal for, 131; purity 
of, 129. 

E 

Earth, a revolted province of the 
kingdom of God, 57; to be filled 
with the knowledge of the glory 
of the Lord, 168. 



TOPICAL INDEX 



183 



Ecclesia, used of the Church and of 
Israel, 90. 

Edenic Covenant, 27. 

Education not the solution for the 
world's evils, 160. 

Elijah a tyoe of glorified saints, 113. 

Empires, world, 19, 70, 147. 

End of the Times of the Gentiles, 
14, 15. 

Enforcement of righteousness and 
justice in the age to come, 169. 

Eon, or "Age," 165. 

Ephesus, message to, 128, 129. 

Epistles, chief themes of the proph- 
ecy in, 119; great theme of 
prophecy in, 122; great tribula- 
tion not mentioned once in, 126, 
137; prophetic element in, 118, 
126; revelation of new truth in, 
111; unfolding the mystery of 
the Church, 114. 

Evangelization, world-wide, forgot- 
ten in the Reformation, 133. 

Eve a type of the church, 115. 

Expectation of the church, 117. 

Ezekiel's kingdom prophecies, 67. 



False Christs in this age, 163. 
False prophet, and beast, fighting 

against the Messiah, 158; the 

Anti-Christ, 157. 
Famines in this age, 16, 163. 
Federation of the nations, 10, 19. 
Fever, type of sin's restlessness, 

169. 
First advent, Daniel's prophecy not 

fulfilled in, 71; events mentioned 

that did not take place at, 66; 

kingdom at hand in, 169. 
First century church, 129. 
First Resurrection, great tribulation 

never mentioned with, 137. 
Fish, good and bad, meaning of, 

162. 
Flood conditions at end of this age, 

15, 162. 
Flood, illustration of end of this 

age, 90; judgment of the, 15. 
Forty days of our Lord's resurrec- 
tion ministry, 101. 
Four great empires dominating 

Gentile world-rule, 12. 
Fulfilled prophecy, 143. 



Gabriel, and establishment of the 
Kingdom, 91; confirming Davidic 
covenant, 161; prophecy through, 
141; renewing covenant, 99. 

Gentile nations, judgment of liv- 
ing, 164, 166; world empires after 
the first four, 70; world-power in 
Armageddon, 158; world-power in 
ten kingdoms, 150; world-powers' 
end sudden and destructive, 71; 



world-rule, 147; world-rule out- 
lined, 12. 

Gentiles, blessing to come through 
Israel, 76; end of the times of 
the, 149, 156; position of before 
and after grace, 77; times of the, 
11, 69, 128, 141, 147. 

Glorified saints of two classes, 112. 

God of this world, 131. 

God-haters during the millennium, 
57. 

Gog and Magog, 157. 

Golden Age, 20, 159. 

Good fish and bad, meaning of, 162. 

Gospel message for this age, 105. 

Gospel, preaching, result of, 109; 
greatest triumphs in salvation, in 
great tribulation, 173. 

Government, human, established, 29. 

Grace, bestows righteousness 
through faith, 34; doctrines of, 
entrusted to Paul, 103; not in- 
troducing Christ's ministry, 75. 

Great Tribulation, 16, 93, 144, 145, 
152, 165; a manifestation of 
God's wrath upon the earth, 153; 
believers exempted from, 135 ff, 
139, 153; details of in Revela- 
tion, 151; different from tribula- 
tion, 136, 137; Gospel wins its 
greatest triumphs in, 173; great 
m'ultitude of true witnesses com- 
ing out of, 156; not mentioned 
in the Epistles, 126, 137; to end 
this age, 163; unbelieving pro- 
fessing Christians to pass through, 
149. 

Great White Throne judgment not 

at end of this age, 161. 
Greece, as a world empire, 70; of 
Alexander the Great in Gentile 
world-rule, 12. 
Groans, three of Romans, 8: 22-26, 
172. 

H 

Harrington's **Oceana," 159. 

Harvest at end of this age, 162. 

Health in the age to come, 170. 

Heavenly sphere, Israel's, 117; the 
church's, 117. 

Hell, Satan not reigning in, 131. 

Heresy, what it is, 121. 

Hesiod, 160. 

High-priestly prayer of Jesus, 96. 

Higher Criticism due to ignorance 
of prophecy, 44. 

Historical interpretation of the 
Apocalypse, 2^6. 

Holy Spirit, advent of the, 101; in- 
augurated the dispensation of 
grace, 94; prediction by, prom- 
ised, 111; groaning intercession 
of in this age, 173. 

Homiletics in prophetic writings, 25. 

Horn, little, 146, 148, 149. 

Human body, Church like the, 115. 

Human government established, 29. 



184 



TOPICAL INDEX 



Hypocrisy, of the professing church, 
119, 126; Roman, shown by 
Thyatira, 131; what it is, 121. 



Idolatry, Israel's sin, Z2. 

Image vision of Daniel, 128. 

Immanuel prediction of Isaiah 7, 24. 

Imposture in Messianic prophecy ex- 
cluded, 42, 43. 

Individual, Christ's new message 
to, 80. 

Individual message offered to the 
Jews, 106. 

Iron, in present national world- 
system, 13; period of Roman 
Empire, 12. 

Isaiah, higher critical theory of, 44. 

Israel, belonging to_ the earthly 
sphere, 117; Christ's ministry 
primarily to, 76; Christ's return 
to, like rising of the sun, 132; 
confused with the Church, 5; 
converted at Christ's coming, 38, 
39, 166; corporately offered the 
Kingdom, 106; divided becomes 
one nation, 64; earthly blessings 
of postponed, 80; future foretold 
in Deuteronomy, 128; invulner- 
able while obedient to unseen 
King, 22, 23; national conver- 
sion, 38; not mistaken in expect- 
ing visible and material kingdom, 
105; not the church, 26; old 
promise to concerning the King- 
dom, 123; peace for, conditions 
of, 23; pilgrim pathway, 96; 
promises to, not limiting works 
and purpose of the age^ to come, 
161; regathered at Christ's com- 
ing, 64, 74, 166; renewed offer 
of the King to, 106; second 
chance of to accept their Messiah, 
107; to be first of the nations, 
38; to be restored to the Land, 
38, 64, 109; to bless the whole 
earth, 38; was God partial to, 
30. 



Jacob, ladder of, 41. 

James, Apostle, summing up of 
council at Jerusalem, 107. 

Japan, perhaps in final invasion of 
the Holy Land, 157. 

Jeremiah's kingdom predictions, 64. 

Jerusalem, capital of the Kingdom 
7Z; conquered by Nebuchadnez- 
zar, 11, 12; destroyed by the 
Romans, 143; disciples must 
begin at^ 103; during the Times 
of the Gentiles, 69; final attack 
upon, 72, 157, 158; first council 
at, 107; Necco, King of Egypt, 
first Gentile overlord of, 11; re- 
built, 142. 



Jew, first, and also to the Gentile, 
for both kingdom and Gospel 
truths, 76\ first to the, 103. 

Jews, covenant with the, 144, 145; 
persecuting Christianity, 130; 
remnant of, terribly persecuted, 
157; repentance and conversion 
of, 72,. 

Jewish, conception of the age to 
come, 161; expectation and 
Lord's return confused, 133; 
hope of the kingdom met whole 
and entire by Jesus, 102; minis- 
try of the Apostles, 103; note, 
none in upper chamber discourse, 
96; remnant sealed, 156; rem- 
nant turns to Christ out of the 
great tribulation, 173; the dis- 
course on Olivet, 91. 

Jezebel, Rome a true, 132. 

Job's Messianic Prophecy, 41. 

John the Baptist, announcement of 
the Kingdom of Heaven, his, 86; 
begins New Testament prophecy, 
77. 

Joshua, victorious captain like, 41. 

Judgment, of the "Great White 
Throne," not at end of this age, 
161; of living Gentile nations, 
164, 166; of the wicked dead, 
174. 

Judgments, received by world pow- 
ers during the great tribulation, 
153; trumpet, in the earth, 152; 
world, believers not involved in, 
116. 

Justice inexorably enforced in the 
age to come, 169. 



K 



King, Prophet, and Priest, 75. 

Kingdom, and Church not synony- 
mous, 26, 56, 112; at hand at 
Christ's first advent, 169; de- 
scription of Isaiah, 11, 63; men- 
tioned only 25 times in Acts and 
the Epistles, 111; mission of, 114; 
of the prophets founded upon 
the Davidic Covenant, 7Z, 91; 
on earth not the goal of the 
Church, 96; Parables of the, 
104; postponed, not abandoned, 
at Jesus' ascension, 108; preach- 
ing, when Christ turned away 
from, 80; prophecies of Zecha- 
riah, 72 ft*. ; shown by the Trans- 
figuration, 112; testimony sum- 
marized in Isaiah, 60; the, 210; 
to be established by power, not 
persuasion, 74; to be set up on 
the earth, 113; to extend over 
the earth, 74. 

Kingdom age, 39, 46, 106. 

Kingdom hope, of Israel met whole 
and entire by Jesus, 102. 

Kingdom keyword, righteousness, 
64. 



TOPICAL INDEX 



185 



Kingdom of God, and Kingdom of 
Heaven, 13, 76, 102; wider than 
Jewish truth, 102. 

Kingdom of Heaven, and Kingdom 
of God, 13, 76, 102; and King- 
dom of God, difference between, 
53 ff. ; announced by Christ, 86; 
announced by John the Baptist, 
77 y 86; announced by the Twelve, 
86, 87; established, 141; mys- 
teries of the, 87, 142, 143; not 
now '*at hand," 79; replacing all 
other earthly kingdoms, 71; 
time of its coming, 102. 

Kingdom of Jesus Christ, 158. 

Kingship to be set up, 18. 



Land, Israel to be restored to her, 
109. 

Laodicea, message to, 134 ff . ; and 
Thyatira, the^ "Babylon" relig- 
ious organization, 153. 

Laodicean profession utterly apos- 
tate 139. 

"Last Adam," Christ the, 160. 

Last, Christ the, 160. 

Last days, 119. 

Law, not grace, began Clirist's min- 
istry, 75. 

Lawless one, 145. 

Leprosy, incurable, type of sin, 169. 

Literal fulfilments of Scripture 
prophecies, 5. 

Little horn, 19, 146, 148, 149; of 
Daniel, 19. 

Living believers changed at Christ's 
coming, 165. 

Longevity in the age to come, 170. 

"Looking" for the Lord's return, 
124. 

Lord's Supper, meaning of, 96. 

Lot, as in the days of, at end of 
this age, 15. 

Love more important than zeal, 129. 

Luther, calling men back to the 
Bible, 131. 

M 

Macaulay on arrest in the Reforma- 
tion, 133. 

Magog and Gog, 157. 

Man of Sin, 19, 119, 126, 144, 145. 

Mason's "New Atlantis," 159. 

Material kingdom to be Israel's, 105. 

Medo-Persia in Gentile world-rule, 
12, 70, 141. 

Melchizedek, priest after the order 
of, 41. 

Messiah, Christ confessed as, 92; 
cut off, 142; Seed of Abraham, 
Son of David, Son of God, and 
Son^ of man, ^2\ to fulfill 
Davidic covenant, 161; to sit on 
throne of David, reaffirmed in 
Olivet Discourse, 99. 



Messiah's Kingdom of Heaven es- 
tablished, 141. 

Messianic message of the Prophets, 
39; prophecies, varied, 40-42; 
prophecy summarized, 49; proph- 
ecy, when begun, 40. 

Millennial kingdom on earth, the 
nations under, 56. 

Millennium, after the, 57. 

Miracles, working by demons, 153. 

Mission, of the church, 117; of the 
Kingdom, 114. 

Missionary meetings of the Church, 
how many attend, 135. 

More's "Utopia," 159. 

Morning star precedes sun-rising, 
132. 

Moses, a type of one class of glori- 
fied saints, 112; deliverer like, 
41; prophecy of Christ, 75. 

Mount of Olives in prophecy, 48; 
standing for Israel's future, 92. 

Muller, Max, 160. 

Mystery, form of the Kingdom of 
Heaven, 56; in the Scripture, 
87; of the Church, 90, 102, 114; 
of the Church unfolded in the 
Epistles, 114. 

Mysteries of the Kingdom, 79, 87, 
142. 143. 

N 

Name of Christ, zeal for, 129. 

Napoleon Bonaparte, 20. 

National . conversion of the world 

not to bring in the Kingdom, 71. 
Nations, judgment of the living, 

166; receiving judgments during 

the great tribulation, 153. 
Nature withholding her greater 

forces until the age to come, 

171. 
Nebuchadnezzar, 147; commencing 

the times of the Gentiles, 69; 

conquest of Jerusalem, 12; 

dream, 69 ff. ; image, 17. 
Necco, King of Egypt, first Gentile 

overlord of Jerusalem, 11. 
New heavens and new earth, 174. 
New promise, not of Clirist's return 

to the Church, 100; of Jesus in 

upper chamber, 97; to the 

Church, 99, 123, 126. 
New Testament prophecy, beginning 

of, 77, , 
Noah conditions at end of this age, 

15; covenant to, 29. 



O 



Olivet discourse, 82, 91, 105, 123, 
126,143,162; confirining promises 
made to the fathers concerning 
the kingdom of heaven, 94; 
Jewish, 92', reaffirming old prom- 
ise to Israel, 99. 



186 



TOPICAL INDEX 



optimism, false, 23, 25, 159; ground- 
less, in Laodicean church, 139; 
in the present crisis shallow, 5. 

Organism, Church an, 115. 

Organization, Church not an, 114. 

Outcalling frcmi among the Gentiles 
of "a people for his name," 164; 
of the Church, 143. 



Palsy, type of the sinner's helpless- 
ness, 169. 

Parable of the bad fish, 56; of the 
Kingdom, 55, 56, 87; of the 
leaven, 56; of the tares, 55. 

Paradox in prophetic testimony, 44. 

Passover, bread and wine, signifi- 
cance of, 96; significance in the 
upper chamber, 95. 

Paul, church truth committed to, 
114; entrusted with doctrines of 
grace, 103; unfolding the mys- 
tery of the Church, 102, 103. 

Peace, permanent, not possible in 
this age, 18; under the Beast, 
19; when there is no peace, 159; 
without righteousness, prophets 
of, 5. 

^Pentecost, Peter's sermon on day 
of, 105. 

Perdition, son of, 144. 

Pergamos, message to, 130, 131. _ 

Persecutions of early centuries, 
130; to continue in this age, 
163. 

Pestilences in this age, 16, 163. 

Peter's confession of Christ as the 
Messiah, 92; second sermon, 
106; sermon on Day of Pente- 
cost, 105. 

Philadelphia, message to, 134 ff. 

Pilgrim pathway of the Church, 95. 

Pilgrims and strangers, the Church, 
96. 

Plato's "Republic," 159. 

Post-tribulationism, 119. 

Poor to be protected in the age to 
come, 168. 

Prayer-meetings of the church, how 
many attend, 135. 

Prediction by the Holy Spirit prom- 
ised, 111. 

Predictive element in the Epistles 
and Revelation, 118. 

Predictive prophecy, 23; great 
themes of, 38. 

Present age a parenthesis in the 
prophetic order, 79. 

Priest, Prophet, and King, 75. 

Prince, of this world, 131; that shall 
come, the man of sin, 149; who 
is to come, the Abomination, 143, 
145. 

Professing church, foreview of its 
history, 128; represents Chris- 
tianity, 131. 



Profession may not be true belief, 
118. 

Program, Divine, for this age, 109. 

Prophecies, in the Epistles, the great 
theme of, 122; of Scripture au- 
thenticated by Christ, 5. 

Prophecy, fulfilled, 143; human, al- 
ways futile, 10; in the Epistles, 
119; nearly one-fourth of the 
Bible, 24; predictive, 23, 25. 

Prophet, appearance in Israel, mean- 
ing of, 21; as forthteller, seer, 
patriot, 22; false message of, on 
peace, 23; Priest, and King, 75; 
qualifications of, 22. 

Prophetic element in the Epistles, 
126; writings mostly sermons, 
25. 
Prophetical Books, how arranged in 
the Bible, 40; interpretation gov- 
erned by inspired rule, 9. 

Prosperity, in Laodicean church, 
139. 

Protestant^ Reformation, 133, 134.^ 

Protestantism, and Romanism unit- 
ing in Babylon, 153; final state 
of, shown in messages to Phila- 
delphia and Laodicea, 134, 135. 

Ptolemaic chronology, 142. 



Race, destiny of the, to be fulfilled 
in the age to come, 161. 

Rapture, great tribulation never 
mentioned with, 137; not to be 
secret, 124; of believers, 119, 
148, 165. 

Redemption of the body at the com- 
ing of the Lord, 173. 

Reformation, Protestant, 13^. 

Regathering of Israel at Christ's 
coming, 64, 164, 166. 

Rejecting the King through Stephen, 
107. 

Rejection, of the absent King, in 
parable, 105; of the Messiah, 
Israel's second, 107. 

Remnant, Jewish, sealed, 156; Jew- 
ish, turns to Christ, out of the 
great tribulation, 173; of Israel 
at Christ's return, 6Z', of Jews, 
terribly persecuted, 157; of true 
believers, 132. 

Restitution, Times of, 106. 

Restoration, of humanity and the 
earth, 52; of Israel, 64. 

Resurrection, at the Lord's return, 
123, 165; foreseen by David, 
105. 

Return, Christ's, accompanied by 
sons of God in glory, 165; of 
the Lord and the Jewish expec- 
tation confused, 133. 

Revelation, Book of, 12i7 ff. ; church 
not mentioned in the details of 
the great tribulation in, 138; 
Historical interpretation of, 26\ 



TOPICAL INDEX 



187 



on history of the church on 
earth, 148; on the great tribula- 
tion, 151; predictive element in 
the, 118. 

Righteousness, the central word of 
the prophets, 32; in the age to 
come, 168. 

Risen Christ to fulfill Kingdom 
promises to Israel, 105. 

Rising of the sun, Christ's return 
to Israel, 132i. 

Rod of iron, Christ to reign with a, 
56, 169. 

Roman Empire, four phases of, 12- 
14; rersecutions in, 130; to be 
reconstructed in ten kingdoms, 
153; to be revived, 147. 

Roman hypocrisy, shown by Thya- 
tira, 131. 

Romans' destruction of Jerusalem, 
143._ 

Romanism and Protestantism unit- 
ing in Babylon, 153. 

Rome, ancient, nations formed out 
of in war to-day, 13; as a world 
empire, 70; in Gentile world- 
rule, 12. 

Russia believed to head invasion by 
Gog and Magog, 157. 



Son of Abraham, Son of David, 

Christ as, 77. 
Son of God eternal, 59. 
Son of perdition, 144. 
Sons of Go^d, in glory, accompany- 
ing Christ's return, 165; to be 

manifested in the age to come, 

170. 
Spirit, baptism of the, 114. 
"Spiritual" interpretation of Christ's 

kingship excluded, 58. 
**Spiritualized," Kingdom, not to be, 

108 . 
Spiritualizing prophecies, 26. 
Star, out of Jacob, 41. 
Stephen's martyrdom, significance of 

107. 
Stone cut out without hands, 17, 70. 
Strangers and pilgrims, the Church, 

96, 117. 
Suffering and glory, in Messianic 

prophecy, 43; of Messiah, 45.^ 
Sullen obedience to Christ during 

the millennium, 56. 
Sun, a type of Christ, 40; rising of, 

Christ's return to Israel, 132. 
Sunday's, Billy, letter to Major 

Cole, 22. 



Saints, glorified, of two classes, 
112. 

Sardis, message to, 133. 

Satan, gives his full power to the 
beast, 115; not reigning in hell, 
131 ; prince and god of this world, 
131; removed in the age to 
come, 169; last test of humanity 
at the end of the age to come, 
174. 

Satan-Bruiser, promise of the, 28. 

"Second man," Christ the, 40, 160. 

Secret rapture by no means scrip- 
tural, 124. 

Seed of the woman, 40. 

Sermon on the Mount, 2Zy 75. 

Sevenl churches in Revelation, 
127 ff. 

Seven years, last of the age, 141 ff. 

Seventieth week of Daniel's proph- 
ecy, 143, 144. 

Seventy sevens, 141; of Divine deal- 
ing with Daniel's people, 142. 

Seventy weeks, when fulfilled, 
142 ff. 

Sign, given to Ahaz, 24; none for 
Christ's coming for his Church, 
^ 97, 124. 

Signs, in the heavens, 158; preced- 
ing Christ's coming, 123, 1214. 

Sin, all consequences of, dealt with 
by Christ, 169. 

Smyrna, message to, 129, 130. 

Social order perfected, God's re- 
vealed purpose, 161. 

Sodom and Gomorrah conditions at 
end of this age, 15, 162. 



Tares and wheat in the present 
age, 118, 162. 

Temple, destroyed by the Romans, 
143; service to be restored, 145; 
standing for Israel's past, 92. 

Ten kings, 147. 

Ten kingdoms, 19, 20, 70, 150, 153. 

Theocracy, Israel a, Z2\ over Israel 
not established at Christ's first 
coming, 91. 

Throne, of Christ's glory, 93, 124; 
of David, 58, 99, 106. 

Thrones, twelve, for the twelve 
apostles, 96. 

Thyatira and^ Laodicea, the "Baby- 
lon" religious organization, 153. 

Thyatira, message to, 131. 

Time note, none for Christ's coming 
for his Church, 97. 

Time of the coming of the kingdom 
of heaven, 102. 

Times of Restitution, 106; of the 
Gentiles, 11, 14, 69, 128, 141, 
147, 149, 156. 

Transfiguration, a Kingdom picture, 
112. 

Translated without seeing death, 
glorified saints, 113. 

Tribulation, church not to pass 
through, 119, 135 ff. 139, 153, 
different from great tribulation, 
136, 137; great, 93, 144, 145, 151, 
152, 153; great, not mentioned in 
the Epistles, 126, 137; great mul- 
titude of true witnesses coming 
out of great, 156; unbelieving 
professing Christians to pass 



188 



TOPICAL INDEX 



through great, 149; see Great 

Tribulation. 
"Triumphal entry" strangely mis- 
called, 81. 
Trumpet judgments in the earth, 

152. 
Twelve disciples, foundation stones 

of the Church, 94. 
Twelve thrones, for the twelve 

apostles, 96. 
Twelve Tribes, to be judged by the 

twelve disciples, 93. 

U 

United States of the World, 10, 
19. 

Upper Chamber discourse. 111; 
promise of the Lord's return, 
122, 123, 132; significance, 95. 

Utopia God's revealed purpose, 161. 



Vedas, 160. 

\^ials of the wrath of God, 152. 

Vineyard of Jehovah, 35. 

Virgin's Son predicted to Ahaz, 2)7. 

Visible and material Kingdom to be 

Israel's, 105. 
V^isible, Christ's coming, 124. 

W 

"Waiting" for the Lord's return 

124. 
War, ceaseless, 166; present, does 

the Bible throw light on. 9-20; 

present, without parallel in hu- 



man history, 9; to the end of 
this age, 15, 16, 144, 163; ended 
forever, 5; ended in the age to 
come, 168. 

"Watching" for the Lord's return, 
. 124. 

Week, Daniel's seventieth, 152; 
meaning seven years, 142. 

Wheat and tares, meaning of, 162; 
of the present age, 118. 

Wild beast vision of Daniel, 128, 
145. 

Witness must have first-hand knowl- 
edge, 103. 

World, believers in. but not of, 
116; church or Baoylon, 153; em- 
pires, 19, 70, 147; empires, none 
after the first four, 70; incorrect 
translation for "age," 165; Satan, 
prince and_ god of , 131; to be 
converted in this age, unscrip- 
tural, 161;^ to be converted, 
when, 109; judgments, believers 
not involved in, 116; powers re- 
ceiving judgments during the 
great tribulation, 153; war, pres- 
, ent, 19. 

W^orld-wide evangelization forgotten 
in the Reformation, 133. 

Worship, of the beast, 157; of tke 
man of sin, 145. 

Wrath, believers not appointed unto, 
133. 



Zeal, not equal to love, 129. 

Zechariah's kingdom prophecies, 721 
ff. ; vision of the Messiah's Sec- 
ond Coming, 92. 



